Introduction - Amanda Bingley
Country reports on hospice and palliative care service provision for all 6 Middle East Cancer Consortium (MECC) * member countries were completed as part of the International Observatory on End of Life Care (IOELC) global analysis. The reports were commissioned by Dr Joe Harford, Director of the Office of International Affairs of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in Bethesda, Maryland , USA. The NCI funded this project. The completed country reports can be accessed on the IOELC website using the links on the right.
Country reports aim to map palliative care development, history and current services, country by country, around the world using a common template, which enables a comparative analysis. This provides a resource for current and future policy and service development. Reports are compiled using a multi-methodological approach; quantitative and qualitative, including statistical information, ethnographic interviews and narrative accounts, referenced peer-reviewed and grey literatures and photographs. Interviews are conducted wherever possible in each country with key healthcare professionals and other related individuals and groups involved in service provision.
*The Middle East Cancer Consortium (MECC) was established in 1996 with the aim of setting up population-based cancer registries for member countries in order to monitor cancer incidence, mortality and epidemiology, promote preventative health policy and encourage research and educational links. The member countries as of July 2005 are Cyprus, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Palestinian Authority and Turkey. Turkey joined MECC in June 2004. Since 2004 MECC have started an education and training programme in palliative care with the aim of supporting the development and improvement of services and links nationally and internationally. (http://mecc.cancer.gov/registry.html)
References:
Silbermann, M (2001) Perspectives for cancer epidemiology research in the Middle East Gastrointestinal Oncology 4(2-3): 181-181
Freedman, L.S., Al-Kayed, S., Barchana, M., Boyiadzis, M., El-Najjar, K., Ibrahim, A.S., Salhab, A.R., Young, J.L., Roffers, S., Kahan, E., Qasem, M.B., Harford, J., Silbermann, M. Cancer Registration in the Middle East Epidemiology 12(1): 131-133
