Journal
JOURNAL OF PAIN AND SYMPTOM MANAGEMENT
Volume 55, Issue 5, Pages 1400-1407Publisher
ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC
DOI: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2018.01.012
Keywords
Undocumented; immigrants; migrants; unauthorized; immigration; humanitarian
Funding
- NIA NIH HHS [P30 AG059307, R01 AG062239, P50 AG047366] Funding Source: Medline
- NIMHD NIH HHS [R25 MD006857, U54 MD010724] Funding Source: Medline
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The Universal Declaration of Human Rights recognizes the inherent dignity, the equal and unalienable rights to be universally protected for all humans irrespective of race, color, gender, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Though this includes the right to dignity-conserving care for terminally ill unauthorized immigrants, access to quality end-of-life care eludes them. Most of the estimated 11.3 million unauthorized immigrants either entered the country without the knowledge of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or were admitted on a temporary visa and stayed past its expiration date. Unsafe living conditions, occupational hazards, lack of access to routine healthcare, scarceness of a social and financial support system, fear of deportation, discrimination and incarceration limit healthcare access of unauthorized immigrants. Lack of access to preventative primary care encounters often results in this population's dependence on acute emergency services for treatment. Lack of opportunity for advance care planning discussions and lack of eligibility to hospice services commonly contributes to poor end of life care. As unauthorized immigrants approach the last days of life, they may often die alone, away from their loved ones, with little-to-no psychosocial support in their final moments. This article provides an overview on end-of-life care for unauthorized immigrants and makes recommendations for potential strategies to providing humane care and support to this vulnerable population. Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine.
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