Disaster and Dignity: Palliative Care Action Plan for Flooding in Garo Hills, Meghalaya

Authors

  • Sunjida Shahriah Fellowship in Palliative Care Programme, Institute of Palliative Medicine, Kozhikode, Kerala, India
  • Sachin Dwivedi Fellowship in Palliative Care Programme, Institute of Palliative Medicine, Kozhikode, Kerala, India
  • Sucheera Amornmahaphun Karuna Peera Kamthorn Palliative Care Center, Roi Et Hospital, Roi Et, Thailand
  • Suman Seshkar Fellowship in Palliative Care Programme, Institute of Palliative Medicine, Kozhikode, Kerala, India
  • Somaye Pouy Department of Pediatric Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Guilan University of Medical Sciences, Rasht, Iran
  • Sidharth Puri Department of Critical Care Medicine, Paras Hospitals, Panchkula, Haryana, India
  • Hemdeep Kaur Department of Community Medicine, University College of Medical Sciences, Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, Delhi, India
  • Shoon Mya Aye Fellowship in Palliative Care Programme, Institute of Palliative Medicine, Kozhikode, Kerala, India
  • Risa Vernette N. Sangma Department of Community Medicine, University College of Medical Sciences, Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, Delhi, India
  • Shyh Poh Teo Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, RIPAS Hospital, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18485/ijdrm.2025.7.2.15

Keywords:

community health, disaster planning, health services accessibility, natural disasters, palliative care

Abstract

Palliative care is an essential component of healthcare systems, which aims to improve the quality of life for people facing life-threatening illnesses and their families through symptom control, psychosocial support, and dignity in care. In disaster situations where health systems are often overwhelmed and resources are strained, the integration of palliative care becomes crucial to address the needs of vulnerable populations. The Garo Hills region of Meghalaya, Northeast India, is geographically remote, vulnerable to annual flooding, and has limited access to health services. This paper explores the theoretical development of a palliative care action plan for the flood-prone region of Garo Hills, Meghalaya, conceptualized as a group exercise for the Fellowship of Palliative Care 2022 to address palliative care needs in a neglected setting. Strategies to obtain buy-in for a palliative care intervention are described based on three target groups: national and international support, neighboring regions, and the Garo community. Given the region’s vulnerability to climate-related disasters, the action plan emphasises community-based preparedness and the integration of palliative care into humanitarian response efforts. This conceptual framework is intended as a guide for managers, humanitarian actors, and policymakers, with potential adaptation to other disaster-prone regions, where palliative care is necessary. No disaster response is complete without attention to those who may not survive.

References

1. Sallnow, L., Smith, R., Ahmedzai. S. H., Bhadelia, A., Chamberlain, C., Cong, Y., … Wyatt, K. (2022). Report of the Lancet commission on the value of death: Bringing death back into life. The Lancet, 399(10327), 837–84. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(21)02314-x.

2. Schwartz, L., Nouvet, E., De Laat, S., Yantzi, R., Wahoush, O., Khater, W. A., ... Hunt, M. (2023). Aid when ‘there is nothing left to offer’: Experiences of palliative care and palliative care needs in humanitarian crises. PLOS Global Public Health, 3(2), e0001306. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0001306.

3. Plagg, B., Ballmann, J., & Ewers, M. (2023). Hospice and palliative care during disasters: A systematic review. Healthcare, 11(17), 2382. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare11172382.

4. Wynne, K. J., Petrova, M., & Coghlan, M. (2020). Dying individuals and suffering populations: Applying a population-level bioethics lens to palliative care in humanitarian contexts: Before, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Medical Ethics, 46(8), 514–25. https://doi.org/10.1136/medethics-2019-105943.

5. Kroll, A., Remington, C. L., Awasthi, P., & Ganapati N. E. (2020). Mitigating the negative effects of emotional labor: A study of disaster response and recovery workers after the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Governance, 34(1), 87–106. https://doi.org/10.1111/gove.12476.

6. Su, Y., & Thayaalan, S. (2024). Empty pantries: The death of survival myths among Typhoon Haiyan survivors in resettlement sites during COVID-19. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 108, 104460. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2024.104460.

7. Cvetkovic, V. M., Roder, G., Ocal, A., Tarolli, P., & Dragicevic, S. (2018). The role of gender in preparedness and response behaviors towards flood risk in Serbia. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 15(12), 2761. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15122761

8. Cvetkovic, V., & Martinovic, J. (2020). Innovative solutions for flood risk management. International Journal of Disaster Risk Management, 2(2), 71-100. https://doi.org/10.18484/ijdrm.2020.2.2.5

9. Peric, J., & Cvetkovic, V. (2019). Demographic, socio-economic and psychological perspective of risk perception from disasters caused by floods: Case study Belgrade. International Journal of Disaster Risk Management, 1(2), 31-43. https://doi.org/10.18485/ijdrm.2019.1.2.3

10. Powell, R. A., Schwartz, L., Nouvet, E., Sutton, B., Petrova, Joan Marston, Daniel Munday, and Lukas Radbruch. 2017. Palliative Care in Humanitarian Crises: Always Something to Offer. The Lancet, 389(10078), 1498–99. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(17)30978-9.

11. Mucherera, B., & Spiegel, S. (2021). Forced displacement: Critical lessons in the protracted aftermath of a flood disaster. GeoJournal, 87(5), 3855–75. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-021-10471-w.

12. Shahriah, S., Dwivedi, S., Amornmahaphun, S., Seshkar, S., Pouy, S., Puri, S., … Teo, S. P. (2024). Awareness building and improving participation of local communities in palliative care. Palliative Medicine in Practice, 18(3), 163-168. https://doi.org/10.5603/pmp.98811.

13. Saravanabavan, V., Sangma, N. N., & Vinothini, C. (2024). Spatial distribution and pattern of location in primary health centers in West Garo Hills District, Meghalaya. International Journal of Research Publication and Reviews, 5(11), 694–701. https://doi.org/10.55248/gengpi.5.1124.3126.

14. Lyngdoh, J. P. (2022). Contribution of traditional medicine toward primary health care in Meghalaya. In Communication, Culture and Change in Asia (pp. 203–14). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-2496-5_14.

15. Singha, K., & Nayak, P. (2015). Reconsidering ethnic-based-autonomy movements in Meghalaya: An analysis. Munich Personal RePEc Archive. https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/64745/.

16. Pathak, N., & Brahma, R. (2024). Cultural practices and indigenous traditions of the Garo and Bodo: Reinterpreting ‘man-nature’ convergences in Wangala and Bathou. In Asia in Transition (pp. 49–68). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-97-3933-2_4.

17. Sharma, J. D., Kalit, M., Nirmolia, T., Saikia, S. P., Sharma, A., & Barman, D. (2014). Cancer: Scenario and relationship of different geographical areas of the globe with special reference to North East-India. Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention, 15(8), 3721–29. https://doi.org/10.7314/apjcp.2014.15.8.3721.

18. Mal, P., & Saikia, N. (2025). Cultural persistence in health-seeking behavior: A mixed-method study of traditional healing practices among Garo tribal women in Meghalaya, India. Journal of Biosocial Science, 57(2), 201-220. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0021932025000094.

19. Dkhar, B., Khongwir, C., Mawrie, U. G., Pohsnem, F., Dhar, R. R., Mawlong, A., Albert, S. (2024). Factors influencing delayed cancer health seeking in Meghalaya, Northeast India: A qualitative study. The Indian Journal of Medical Research, 160, 201–9. https://doi.org/10.25259/ijmr_2136_23.

20. Egger, C., & Schopper, D. (2022). Organizations involved in humanitarian action: Introducing a new dataset. International Studies Quarterly, 66(2), sqac009. https://doi.org/10.1093/isq/sqac009.

21. Campion-Smith, C., Austin, H., Criswick, S., Dowling, B., & Francis, G. (2010). Can sharing stories change practice? A qualitative study of an interprofessional narrative-based palliative care course. Journal of Interprofessional Care, 25(2), 105–11. https://doi.org/10.3109/13561820.2010.515427.

22. Dumont, K., Marcoux, I., Warren, E., Alem, F., Alvar, B., Ballu, G., Boivin, A. (2022). How compassionate communities are implemented and evaluated in practice: A scoping review. BMC Palliative Care, 21(1), 131. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12904-022-01021-3.

23. Laskow, T., Small, L., & Wu, D. S. (2019). Narrative interventions in the palliative care setting: A scoping review. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 58(4), 696–706. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2019.06.009.

24. Sunjida, S., Dwivedi, S., Amornmahaphun, S., Seshkar, S., Pouy, S., Puri, S.,Teo, S. P. (2024). Exploring innovative approaches to fundraising for palliative care. Global Health Economics and Sustainability, 3809. https://doi.org/10.36922/ghes.3809.

Downloads

Published

2025-12-24

How to Cite

Shahriah, S., Dwivedi, S., Amornmahaphun, S., Seshkar, S., Pouy, S., Puri, S., … Teo, S. P. (2025). Disaster and Dignity: Palliative Care Action Plan for Flooding in Garo Hills, Meghalaya. International Journal of Disaster Risk Management, 7(2), 279–294. https://doi.org/10.18485/ijdrm.2025.7.2.15

Issue

Vol. 7 No. 2 (2025): International Journal of Disaster Risk Management

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Sunjida Shahriah, Sachin Dwivedi, Sucheera Amornmahaphun, Suman Seshkar, Somaye Pouy, Sidharth Puri, Hemdeep Kaur, Shoon Mya Aye, Risa Vernette N Sangma, Shyh Poh Teo

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

This journal operates under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, reproduction, adaptation, and transformation in any medium, provided the original author and source are properly credited.

Authors retain the copyright of their articles.

The International Journal of Disaster Risk Management (IJDRM) encourages and permits authors to:

  • Post pre-print (submitted version), post-print (accepted version), and publisher’s version/PDF of their articles on personal websites, institutional repositories, disciplinary repositories, and academic networks such as ResearchGate, Academia.edu, or departmental websites,

  • Do so at any time, including before or after publication,

  • Provided that appropriate credit is given to the original publication in this journal, including:

    • Full bibliographic details

    • A clear mention of the journal name

    • A direct link to the article’s DOI (as an HTML link)

No prior permission is required from the publisher or editors for such actions, as long as the terms of the CC BY 4.0 license are followed.

Similar Articles

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 > >> 

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.