消失的吿別：「新冠」疫情下的臨終關懷與善終

The Missing Farewell: End-of-Life Care and Good Death during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

LANGUAGE NOTE | Document text in Chinese; abstract also in English.

傳統意義下的臨終關懷，以全面的身心照料為中心，為瀕臨離世的病患及其家屬提供涵蓋生理、社會及心靈方面的支援及照護服務，使其消除焦慮和對死亡的恐懼，最終幫助病人有尊嚴地、舒緩平和地抵達人生盡頭，也慰藉患者家屬走出失去至親的傷痛。然而，在「新冠」疫情的影響下，臨終關懷面臨著倫理困境，善終的意義也一度受到挑戰。本文以香港疫情下受限的探訪和殯葬安排為例，通過儒家思想中的以人文本、家庭主義和臨終禮儀，分析防疫政策對臨終關懷和善終的影響並探究其倫理正當性，為今後突發公共衛生事件下臨終關懷必要性、執行過程和發展提供思考。

End-of-life care aims to provide supportive physical, social, mental, and spiritual care for terminally ill patients and their family members. Not only does it help patients approach the end of their lives with dignity and peace, but it also helps family members overcome the grief of losing a loved one. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, ethical dilemmas have emerged within the field of end-of-life care, and it has been challenging to help people experience a good death. This article takes the example of the pandemic-related restrictions in Hong Kong that affected visiting and funeral arrangements. It analyzes the impact of anti-pandemic measures on end-of-life care and the provision of a good death. It examines the ethical justifications of these measures through the Confucian themes of human-orientedness, familism, and death rituals, and it outlines practical implications for end-of-life care under similar circumstances.