6. Palliative care

Palliative care is the preventing and relieving of the suffering of people affected by TB during and after treatment and at the end-of-life.

Many people with TB, and most with DR-TB, suffer in multiple ways: from physical symptoms such as pain or dyspnoea, from psychological symptoms such as anxiety or depression, and from social problems such as discrimination or homelessness. This suffering may be due to the disease, its treatment, physical or psychological comorbidities such as HIV/AIDS, diabetes, or mental health/ substance use disorders, stigma and discrimination, or extreme poverty (91, 92). People continue to die from both DR-TB and DS-TB (93), and their family members may suffer from the stress of caregiving, financial challenges, further stigma and grief (91).

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