2018; Volume 19, No 2, February

Announcements and Resources

Announcements

Each month, we publish a selection of items that may be of interest to our global readership. Contributions are welcomed; we reserve the right to edit content.

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.

Resources

Each month, we publish a limited selection of items that may be of interest to our global readership. Contributions are welcomed; we reserve the right to edit content.

WHPCA consultant position, low- to middle-income country

The Worldwide Hospice Palliative Care Alliance seeks a patient involvement consultant from either a low- or middle-income country. This is a paid, one-year position with a time commitment of eight to 16 hours per month.

The organization is looking for someone to support a new project to raise the impact of the voices of those directly affected by serious illness, to support the development of palliative care globally. The application deadline is 14 February 2018.

Essential qualifications:

Find out more by downloading the person specification and role description. Candidates are invited to send a CV and cover letter explaining why you are interested in the consultancy and how you fit the job specifications to [email protected].

CAPC launches free Palliative Care Impact Calculator

Palliative care increases patient and family satisfaction, improves quality, and can help extend survival. The resulting cost savings are an unintended but welcome consequence of meeting people's real needs through provision of high quality palliative care. The Center to Advance Palliative Care has designed a free calculator to help palliative care programs project overall cost savings for their inpatient palliative care consult services. The Palliative Care Impact Calculator, launched in 2017, is free to all (CAPC membership is not required) and is described by the CAPC as ‘particularly helpful for those wishing to set up or expand new palliative care programs.’

North American speaking tour by ‘Hippocratic’ doctor M.R. Rajagopal

The Chairman of Pallium India, Dr. M.R. Rajagopal, is embarking on a North American speaking tour this spring in conjunction with the film about his life and work, titled Hippocratic: 18 Experiments in Gently Shaking the World, that was released last October on World Hospice and Palliative Care Day.

The feature-length film, sponsored by the IAHPC, screened in dozens of cities around the world, including India and Australia, to rave reviews. The film has inspired audiences to contribute much-needed support for palliative care service provision in India. Confirmed bookings for this tour include California’s Stanford University and University of California San Francisco, MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, and Tufts University in Boston, as well as appearances in Toronto, Kingston, Ottawa, New York, Columbus, Madison, San Diego, Washington D.C., Victoria, and Vancouver.

Anyone in the US or Canada who is interested in arranging a screening of the film, a speaking engagement with 2018 Nobel Peace Prize nominee Rajagopal, grand rounds, university event, or public or private events should contact the film’s producer and director Mike Hill ([email protected]).

The tour begins in Toronto 6 March and is expected to wrap up in Houston on 12 April 2018.

Hippocratic draws on the timeless wisdom of Mahatma Gandhi, who profoundly influenced Raj’s own lived experiences. It ‘reveals the challenges of delivering health care in low-resource settings, the tragedy of unnecessary suffering, but also the opportunity and empowerment of delivering ethical, whole-person care through a grassroots movement.’

Free, online course for nurses working in oncology

The Canadian Association of Nurses in Oncology offers a free, online, self-directed course for nurses titled Adult Cancer Survivorship — A Self-Learning Resource for Nurses. Its 11 units include models of care, living with the risk of recurrence, complementary therapies, sexual health, returning to work, risk reduction, and resources and tools.

Listening to one woman’s journey as a hospice volunteer

The End-of-Life University hosts a series of online interviews, each of which is available for a limited time. The most recent, an hour-long talk with Katherine Arnup, reveals lessons she has learned while volunteering at a local hospice for the past 16 years. The audio interview with Arnup — a university professor, life coach, volunteer, and author of I don't have time for this! A Compassionate Guide to Caring for Your Parents and Yourself — is available via electronic device or phone.

In the interview, Arnup talks about how she transformed from someone who had feared death since she was a child, into someone who learned, after caring for her dying sister, that she ‘belonged’ at the hospice in her neighborhood. ‘I slowed down, I took the time. It felt like a privilege, helping them [the dying] with their lives.’

She speaks about the ways in which her life, and views, have changed dramatically, and important lessons learned that being an academic could never teach her. ‘I work very hard at having a beginner’s mind,’ she says, referring to a Zen Buddhist practice of being open, eager, and without preconceptions.

Anyone can sign up to receive notification of each new interview posted by EOL University by visiting the website www.eoluniversity.com.

Serious illness strategies: A free CAPC guide to improve health plans

In palliative care parlance, organizations are always striving to accomplish a triple aim: higher quality and satisfaction at a lower cost. Last year, the Center to Advance Palliative Care published ‘Serious Illness Strategies for Health Plans and Accountable Care Organizations’, a free, downloadable resource that explains how a framework of six proven strategies can help health plans and accountable care organizations work with clinicians to achieve the triple aim. In CAPC tradition, this publication is full of practical guidance, case studies, and relevant data.

The six strategy topics are: proactive identification, engagement and assessment, services and benefit design, provider network, payment and incentives, and measurement and evaluation. According to the CAPC, ‘The document consolidates best practices from health plans and accountable care organizations’ in the USA.

Booklet helps those with MND continue enjoying hobbies, interests

‘Making the Most of Life with Motor Neurone Disease (MND)’ is a guide designed to help people with MND think about activities they enjoy, or want to try, and how to approach these in a different way. Interests do not necessarily have to stop with a diagnosis, but adjustment may be needed.

As a life-shortening condition with no cure, MND information usually focuses on symptom management for people with the disease, and wider support for carers and family members. This booklet, developed by the MND Association, takes a slightly different approach to quality of life, by concentrating on the enjoyment of hobbies and interests while living with the condition.

While symptom management is not the primary focus of the booklet, different MND symptoms are mentioned in terms of how they may challenge the activities people enjoy.

If you are interested, download the booklet or request a copy via email.

Guide speaks to parents and carers of children with complex needs

The International Children’s Palliative Care Network has published a new guide titled ‘Are You Worried about Your Child?’ to help parents of children with complex needs, as well as the medical professionals and caregivers who treat them. An international group of 11 authors collaborated on the free guide.

The document takes the form of letters to parents and professionals to introduce key experiences faced by many families in this situation and to highlight their needs. The topics are: respect, quality of life, ‘keeping it all together,’ and ‘getting the family back on track.’

Dates to Note

Calls for Abstracts

The deadline for a call for abstracts on the topic of medical and health sciences for The International Conference on Hospice and Palliative Care (ICHPC) 20th International Conference on Palliative Care is 15 February 2018. The conference takes place 3-4 December 2018 in Sydney, Australia.

The call for poster abstracts opens 5 February 2018 for the 17th World Congress on Pain being held 12-16 September 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Poster Abstract Guidelines are now available. The submission deadline is March 12.

The 7th annual International Conference on Opioids takes place 10-12 June 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. The theme is ‘Opioids in medicine: Perception and reality.’ The deadline for poster abstract submissions is 20 April 2018. The conference is to ‘present the latest research, real world knowledge, and practical solutions aimed at improving patient outcomes and reducing risk to both your patients and your practice.’

Additional spaces have opened up for abstract submissions (oral, symposium, workshop, and poster presentations) for The International Federation on Ageing is hosting the 14th Global Conference on Ageing 8-10 August 2018 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. To balance the program and deliver on a range of key global issues, the IFA is seeking additional abstracts under the themes/sub-themes of Combating Ageism, Toward Healthy Ageing, and Addressing Inequalities. Further abstracts under the theme of Age-Friendly Environments are also welcome. The new deadline for additional abstracts is 6 April 2018.

The 22nd International Congress on Palliative Care is being held 2-5 October 2018 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The deadline for poster abstract submissions is 31 May 2018.

Conferences

The 25th Annual IAPCON Conference, hosted by the Indian Association of Palliative Care and the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, takes place 23-25 February 2018 in New Delhi, India. The theme is ‘Create, Collaborate, and Communicate.’

The US-based Social Work Hospice & Palliative Care Network is holding its 6th Annual General Assembly from 11-13 March 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. The theme is ‘Forging New Models of Hospice and Palliative Care through Practice, Research, and Education.’

The Global Summit on Oncology & Cancer takes place 12-14 March 2018 in Singapore. The theme is ‘Redefining the Frontiers in Oncology Research.’

The 2018 Annual Assembly by the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM) and the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association (HPNA) is being held 14-17 March in Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

IX Congreso Latinoamericano de Cuidados Paliativos de la Asociación Latinoamericana de Cuidados Paliativos (ALCP) takes place in Santiago, Chile, 11-14 April 2018.

The 3rd International Children’s Palliative Care Network (ICPCN) Conference takes place in Durban, South Africa, from 30 May-2 June 2018. The theme of the conference is ‘Inspiration, Innovation, Integration.’ Early bird registration closes on 28 February 2018.

10th World Research Congress of the European Congress of the European Association for Palliative Care will be held 22-24 May 2018 in Bern, Switzerland. The early bird registration deadline is March 15.

The International Federation on Ageing is hosting the 14th Global Conference on Ageing 8-10 August 2018 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The theme of is ‘Toward a Decade of Healthy Ageing – From Evidence to Action.’ The early bird registration deadline is 6 August 2018.

The 17th World Congress on Pain is being held 12-16 September 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. The early bird registration deadline is 21 May 2018.

Registration opens mid-May 2018 for the 23rd Hospice New Zealand Palliative Care Conference, being held 18-21 September 2018 in Auckland, New Zealand. The early bird registration deadline is 27 July 2018.

The 22nd International Congress on Palliative Care is being held 2-5 October 2018 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. One of the five plenary sessions is on Global Palliative Care. The early bird registration deadline is 31 March 2018.

The International Conference on Hospice and Palliative Care (ICHPC) 20th International Conference on Palliative Care is scheduled for 3-4 December 2018 in Sydney, Australia. The early bird registration deadline is 2 November 2018.

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