Kenya Conference Expands Understanding of Palliative Care’s Complexity

By Alison Ramsey
Pallinews Editor

Ten IAHPC Scholars attended Kenya’s 7th National Palliative Care Conference, which was organized and hosted by the Kenya Hospice and Palliative Care Association (KEHPCA) and the Ministry of Health. An important takeaway flagged by many Scholars at the February event was the essential role of sexual and reproductive health as part of holistic palliative care. Their reports covered a lot of ground from the busy conference. A few examples are below.

The IAHPC greatly appreciates Board Member Stella Rithara staffing our booth at the conference, where she helped to promote the many advantages of becoming an IAHPC member, including: free or low-cost online courses; webinars; and practical, case-based learning (including home-based) to enhance real-world skills.

Partners in care: Police officers & chaplains

“One key takeaway for me was the need for inclusivity of the police force in palliative care,” said Lydia Gimode, CEO of the Western Homebased Care Initiative, adding that “we will do advocacy and awareness in all police force institutes through our county government.”

“While I am not a prescribing clinician,” said clinical chaplain and psychologist John Maina, the congress “reinforced for me that medicine availability is not solely a pharmacological challenge, it is a deeply human, institutional, and advocacy issue in which chaplains and psychologists have a meaningful role to play.

“I will actively participate in the palliative care interdisciplinary team meetings to ensure that psychosocial and spiritual barriers to medication adherence and acceptance are consistently raised.”

Help for symptom & pain relief

“The session opened my eyes on the various medications available for clients receiving palliative care,” reported Joy Wakiuru, palliative care coordinator at Mauau Methodist Hospital. “I was able to get a booklet that gives guidance on safe dosages for analgesia.”

“KEMSA [Kenya Medical Supplies Authority], as a government institute, presented the procedure for which health facilities can get medicines from them at affordable prices and quick delivery,” noted Gimode. “They emphasized early procurement.”

As moderator for a session on pain management, Gilbert Kilaho, medical office in charge at Reale Hospital, advised physicians prescribing adjuvant analgesics to “please communicate clearly to the patients the reasons why.” He noted that “we need to play a more active role to ensure morphine availability in our facilities,” as its absence “was a major complaint among attendees.”

A walth of research ideas

IAHPC Scholars came away with a treasure trove of research topics they plan to pursue, from the very broad to the very specific, including: 

• sexual and reproductive health in palliative care 
• developing and validating a Kenyan spiritual care assessment tool; the adequacy of Clinical Pastoral Education frameworks in preparing spiritual care providers for palliative care roles
• the role of palliative care on quality of life for women with breast cancer
• the incorporation of therapeutic therapies in palliative care, such as oncology massage and lymphatic drainage

The need to coordinate, document, report, and disseminate research findings was also identified. Salome Gitonga, a registered palliative care nurse working at Kenyatta National Hospital, tackled the issue of dissemination. She vowed to “translate research findings into practice by integrating evidence-based approaches into patient care, and share key findings with colleagues through training and mentorship to improve service delivery.”

Scholars’ posters & oral presentations

• Breaking Barriers: Promoting Inclusive Palliative Care for Deaf Communities in Kenya (Josephine Muya) 
• Elevating the Overlooked Spiritual Dimension in Culturally Responsive Palliative Care (Kevin Omondi)
• Oncology massage therapy (Lydia Gimode)

See some of the other Scholars