Each month, we publish a limited selection of items that we feel will be of interest to our global readership. Content is welcomed but please observe the criteria for inclusion:
Content should provide insight on how to advance palliative care and improve knowledge and skills.
Please also consider promoting your education and training events in the IAHPC Global Directory of Education in Palliative Care It’s quick and easy – just submit your content online.
Global AIDS. Important new publication in Lancet HIV: Trial from Kenya demonstrates improved outcomes in care and support
Dr Richard Harding, Reader in Palliative Care, Director of Global Programmes and Partnerships, Cicely Saunders Institute, King's College London, UK, writes.
Building on the PEPFAR Care & Support Public Health Evaluation (PHE) that we led, we identified patient problems and went on to design an intervention trial. The data were published recently as a fast track in Lancet HIV. We found that our intervention improved quality of life, psychiatric morbidity, and psychosocial problems.
Current global policy is that by 2020, 90% of people with HIV will be tested; of these 90% will be on treatment, and of those on treatment 90% will have viral suppression. This poses a huge challenge to health services, especially as our prior evidence from East Africa showed a high burden of psychosocial problems among people with HIV, that this is evident from the point of diagnosis and our systematic review identified a high prevalence of depression, anxiety and perceived stigma globally for people on HIV treatment.
The TOPcare trial, published on 15 June in Lancet HIV, found that a simple training program in the principles and practice of palliative care, which was delivered to existing HIV outpatient nurses, significantly improved quality of life, psychosocial problems, and psychiatric morbidity. This offers a promising model for health services around the world that will face an increasing patient load with such problems. The paper is freely downloadable here.
AIDSImpact 2015: The Global Bio-psychosocial HIV Conference – 28-31 July 2015, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
The full scientific program and registration are currently online.
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How your gift supports the IAHPC mission
Achieved: $24,941
Goal: $30,000
83%
Education
Your gift funds the operational costs of our online courses taught by globally recognized experts who volunteer their time and provide educational resources relevant to palliative care topics. It also supports scholarships that enable palliative care workers to attend educational events and congresses, and allows us to maintain Pallipedia, the free, live, online dictionary.
The goal of this pillar is to implement strategies, resources and tools that will improve the competencies of the global workforce for appropriate palliative care delivery. We have two programs under this pillar plus many other resources for our members.
Your gift enables us to build and strengthen the partnerships that accelerate global, regional, and national advocacy for palliative care. We advocate for its integration into primary health care under universal health coverage and effective access to essential palliative care medicines and packages for people of all ages. Your gift supports our work to prepare delegates and participate in technical consultation meetings of the relevant UN organizations.
The goal this pillar is the integration of palliative care into primary health care within the spectrum of universal coverage to improve access to adequate care for patients in need. We offer the following to our members:
Documents on Human Rights and Access to Medicines and Care
Research
Your gift enables us to continue doing research that provides guidance and recommendations for action, based on responses from the global palliative care community. Such research includes our recent evaluation of the impact of euthanasia and assisted dying practices on palliative care workers and the use of essential medicines for palliative care. It also supports the costs of publications focused on research relevant to palliative care.
The goal of this pillar is to design and implement projects that lead to the integration of palliative care into health policies, resolutions, and key documents. Our studies help us provide guidance and recommendations, and take action based on the responses from the global palliative care community.
Your membership enables you to participate in IAHPC projects such as the:
Your gift enables us to continue our in-depth reporting and book reviews in Pallinews, as well as media campaigns that raise awareness about the need to increase access to care and support for patients and families.
We are a small organization that allocates over 80% of our budget to mission driven programs and to the maintenance of our free website. We need operational funding to continue the work.
Give a gift, get a gift
IAHPC members: When you gift a 2-year membership to a colleague in a low- or middle-income country, we extend your membership by 6 months.