DOHA, Qatar, Sept. 9, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The Pontifical Academy for Life (Vatican City) and the World Innovation Summit for Health (Qatar Foundation) have announced a joint symposium titled 'Religion and Medical Ethics: Palliative Care and the Mental Health of the Elderly', to be held in Rome on 11-12 December, 2019.
The first day of the symposium will focus on palliative care and will provide an overview of current practices in Qatar and the Arabian Gulf region in comparison to Western practices. The sessions aim to investigate ways to tackle the ethical challenges found at the intersection of palliative care and religious bioethics.
Among the sessions will be a discussion on Muslim and Christian commonalities in approaches to palliative care that will highlight differences so as to better inform interfaith approaches to medical care. These sessions will emphasize the important role of interfaith chaplaincy in hospice palliative care.
Discussions and presentations on the second day will focus on the mental health of the elderly. Speakers and delegates will examine the great potential benefits of religion and spirituality in improving the well-being and quality of life of elderly patients, and will explore the opportunities and challenges faced in improving quality of life through religiously informed mental health service provision from an interfaith perspective.
Additional topics being discussed across the two days include the palliative care of children and suicide among the elderly.
The academic partners for the symposium will be The BMJ, who will be represented at the event by editors of the BMJ's Journal of Medical Ethics.
Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, President of the Pontifical Academy for Life, states: "This meeting is very important for us. Palliative care and the health of the elderly are two specific themes of great interest to our Academy; engaging in a dialogue with the Islamic world responds to the specific mandate entrusted by Pope Francis to the Pontifical Academy."
Ms. Sultana Afdhal, CEO of WISH, adds: "WISH was founded to help build a healthier world through global collaboration. We appreciate this opportunity to work closely with the Pontifical Academy for Life to help shine a spotlight on important issues at the intersection of religious and medical ethics and that deeply affect people of faith at critical times in their lives."
More detailed information on the event, plus a registration link, can be found at ethics.wish.org.qa
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