Abstract

Nour Eddin Alshaaer, Mohanad Mahgoub, Hassan Mandeel, Mohamad Bakro, Mohammed Amer Swid and Dr. Colyn Davey Abstract Introduction: End of life care focuses mainly on the relief of suffering patients with serious debilitating illnesses and on the provision of the best quality of life for patients and their families, as well. Although, in the beginning, patients received end of life care were of older age like cancer and HIV patients. Recently, some newborns who are deemed to be too severely damaged at or before birth have been identified to have the need for receiving end-of-life care. Objective: We aim to construct a literature review identifying the need for neonatal end-of-life care in Saudi Arabia discussing the challenges that could hinder the implementation of neonatal end-of-life care shedding light on some proposed guidlines. Methodology: We reviewed publications retrieved through a PubMed search using relevant keywords, combined with the "related articles" function. Interviews and e-books were also used in data gathering. Findings: Besides the increased number of newborns with conditions incompatible with life in Saudi Arabia, peculiarities of the Saudi society due to the cultural, traditional and religious beliefs have also stressed the urgent demand for neonatal end of life care. Challenges that could be faced when implementing end-of-life care in Saudi Arabia could be very similar to the problems of conventional end-of-life care in general that have a cultural, traditional and religious component. Recommendations include training the staff on how to appropriately support the cultural and religious needs of various ethnicities and choosing and preparation of an area suitable for end of life care to take place in. Conclusion: It has been clear that there is an urgent need for the implementation of neonatal end-of-life care in Saudi Arabia. However, prior to the provision of this service, a thorough understanding of the different challenges and recommendations reported in the literature is highly suggested.