2015; Volume 16, No 3, March

Global Palliative Care Community Highlights – introducing our new column that brings you initiatives from across the world

We had a great time organizing and conducting the first-ever IAPC Leadership Workshop in Palliative Care in India…

Dr. Anjum S. Khan Joad, Course Director of the Leadership Workshop, Jaipur, India, reports:

On 12 February, we conducted a ‘Leadership workshop’ for people working in palliative care. The workshop, a first for India, preceded the 22nd International Conference of the Indian Association of Palliative Care (IAPC) at Hyderabad, organized by Dr. Gayatri Palat, with Dr Chitra Venkateswaran and Dr Charu Singh as co-chairs of the scientific committee. I was the course director for the workshop and Dr Shoba Nair was co-director.

The concept of leadership training is new for the healthcare sector in India. The idea of doing a leadership workshop came up because of our exposure to a wonderful learning experience at the Leadership Development Initiative in San Diego and Columbus, USA.

The faculty for the workshop included Dr. Carl Johan Furst (Sweden), Dr. Fraser Black (Canada), Dr. Lukas Radbruch (Germany), Ms. Liliana De Lima (USA), Dr. Mhoira Leng (Uganda), Dr. Graham Tosh (UK), and Dr. Anil Paleri, Dr. Anjum Joad, Dr. Dinesh Chandra Goswami and Dr. Shoba Nair (all from India). We were delighted to have so much input from the International Association for Hospice and Palliative Care (IAHPC) through the involvement of Liliana, Lukas and other IAHPC board members.

Leadership workshop faculty

The workshop opened on an auspicious note with the lighting of the traditional lamp of learning – which made for an unexpected funny moment when it set off smoke detectors and fire alarms! We had an exciting and vibrant participation from delegates from Uganda (two), Nepal (three), Malaysia (one), and from five states in India. Registered participants included social workers, palliative care doctors, pharmacists, nurses, surgeons and counselors.

We only had one day for the workshop and it was extremely difficult to plan and deliver the tightly packed schedule – and make time for the sumptuous Hyderabadi cuisine! But we managed it because of our earlier planning and the completion of online questionnaires before the workshop.

The schedule comprised these sessions:

• Leadership principles, values, attitudes, skills
• Overview of strategic planning
• Overview of self and team care
• Conflict management.

Leadership workshop: Participants and faculty

The course faculty and participants enjoyed the day, though many were exhausted after long journeys across the country – or for some the planet!

Asked to describe their ‘most significant learning from the workshop’, participants’ comments included: “Leadership is about self development,” “SMART goals,” “Came to know about myself after 45 years!” and “I need to nurture myself first, to equip myself to care for others.”

And with participants’ suggestions ringing in our ears: “Would have been better over two days,” and “Please plan a refresher soon,” perhaps this is our cue to start longer courses or add on modules with IAHPC support!

Dr. Anjum S. Khan Joad, Department of Palliative Care, Bhagwan Mahaveer Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, Jaipur, India, email: [email protected]

New ‘palliative care in primary care’ project launches in Brazil – Estar ao Seu Lado

Dr Santiago Rodríguez Corrêa, a family physician, and Carla Mazuko, a nurse, are both passionate about palliative care. Here, they describe a new initiative to help primary care teams to offer better care to people with palliative care needs.

A new project that aims to include palliative care in primary care was launched in September 2014. The project, ‘Estar ao Seu Lado’ (in English: ‘Beside You’), seeks to enable primary care teams to offer a new model of care that will increase their ability to care for people with palliative care needs. Thus, patients and their families, who form the basis of the care pyramid, can be better supported in their journey, with improved overall pain relief and greater dignity and quality of life.

'Estar ao Seu Lado' is linked to the Family Health Strategy in the Rio Grande, and covers ‘Area 29’, which has a population of about 3,000 people. The project has been approved by the Federal University of the Rio Grande in southern Brazil (Fundação Universidade Federal do Rio Grande, Rio Grande do Sul) and is registered in SIGPROJ (Sistema de informação e gestão de projetos).

The project covers three main areas:

• The standardization of care provided: diagnostic area, evaluation and planning including the use of various tools and mechanisms to enable better care for patients;
• Professional awareness and staff training: with presentation of specific topics and curriculum in palliative care based on the skills of the different professionals involved.
• Community awareness: a programme that aims to raise awareness of palliative care, with meetings that are open to the community and specifically to caregivers. Presentations will also be made at local and municipal councils.

'Estar ao Seu Lado' has been selected for oral presentation at the 4th International Conference of Public Health and Palliative Care in Bristol, UK, to be held in May 2015. This highlights the importance of the subject and increases the responsibility of the project to the community, and particularly to patients and their families.

If you would like more information about our project please contact Dr Santiago Rodríguez Corrêa, email: [email protected]

Read more about the 4th International Conference of Public Health and Palliative Care.

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