2021; Volume 22, No 7, July
HAU Course Trains IAHPC Scholars to Become Advocates
The International Association for Hospice and Palliative Care funded three scholarships for Hospice Africa Uganda’s Palliative Care Initiators course, a three-month online program followed by a three-week, in-country placement to gain practical experience.
The IAHPC Scholars, who recently completed their in-country placements, are:
- Miss Jamila Boateng, a critical care nurse at Bono Regional Hospital in Sunyani, Ghana;
- Miss Ruth Esi Fosuah, Senior Nursing Officer at Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra, Ghana;
- and Mr. Vincent Namisi, a nurse at Kitovu Hospital in Masaka City, Uganda.
The stated goal of the course is “to train health professionals to initiate affordable and culturally appropriate palliative care services in their own country, and to be advocates and leaders for the specialty.”
Scholar has designed an action plan
Jamila Boateng
Ruth Esi Fosuah
“Palliative care” isn’t a phrase commonly known in Ugandan languages, says Vincent Namisi. Most call it “elderly care.” Photo used with permission.
The course, Mr. Namisi reports, “helped me to appreciate different models of palliative service provision: home care, day care, outpatient, and hospital. It helped me to meet key stakeholders, such as palliative care associations (APCA, PCAU).” Armed with new knowledge, “I have designed an action plan that is aimed at provision of palliative care both for outpatients and those at home.”
He notes that he would have had to save his entire salary for more than six months to be able to afford the course. Mr. Namisi also informs us that mobile palliative care services in Ugandan cities, like Kampala, are badly hampered by traffic jams, poor directions, or people moving without notifying the service.
The HAU course welcomes participants from varied fields: doctors, pharmacists, dispensers, nurses, midwives, social workers, physiotherapists, and occupational therapists. Applicants must be working, or about to start working, in palliative care or support programs, be willing to teach others, have written recommendations, and organizational support to implement palliative care services.
For more information about IAHPC scholarships, contact Programs Manager Genevieve Napier.
To learn more about Hospice Africa Uganda visit the IAHPC Global Directory of Palliative Care Institutions and Organizations
Reminder
Show Your Enthusiasm!
October is Recognition Month, when IAHPC awards a scholarship and a one-year membership to the member who refers the most new or renewing members during the previous 12 months.
IAHPC Membership Drive Award criteria are posted on the IAHPC Members’ web page. Don’t wait—refer a friend or colleague!
Sharing your appreciation of IAHPC can have a big impact. Many of our members were referred by a colleague or friend. Every IAHPC member contributes to the strength and impact of our organization’s global advocacy toward the provision of palliative care and the relief of health-related suffering.
In other news
Invitation to Join an International Phase IV Research Program
By David Currow, Professor of Palliative Medicine
ImPACCT (Improving Palliative, Aged and Chronic Care through Clinical Research and Translation), University of Technology Sydney, Australia
For the past decade, the Australian Palliative Care Clinical Studies Collaborative has hosted an international phase IV program mostly built around pharmacovigilance—but, more recently, includes non-pharmacological interventions—commonly used in palliative care and cancer symptom management.
More than 80 sites in 15 countries provide evidence of real-world benefits and harms for much of what we do on a day-to-day basis. This has engaged centers from low-, middle-, and high-income countries at almost no cost to participating sites. Any site interested in joining this program should contact Jane Hunt at [email protected].
‘We have systematically underestimated
harms attributed to much of what we do’
The basic principle is that aggregating data forms a consecutive cohort of a large number of centers after a clinical decision has been made to introduce a particular therapy or intervention. This allows us to look at real-world performance. The most important take-home message from this program of work is that we have systematically underestimated the harms that could be directly attributed to much of what we do.
Since its inception in 2006, the collaborative has focused on conducting phase III clinical trials that could directly inform the deliberations of pharmaceutical regulatory agencies around the world. All of the studies have sought to answer current, practical questions for which the evidence base was lacking at a regulatory level. The end users for these studies are not just in palliative care.
To learn more about Improving Palliative, Aged and Chronic Care through Clinical Research and Translation (ImPACCT), visit the IAHPC Global Directory of Palliative Care Institutions and Organizations.
APHN Scholarship and Bursaries on Offer
The Asia-Pacific Hospice Palliative Care Network is offering 10 bursaries for doctors and 1 scholarship to attend its online conference, being held November 13-14, 2021. The deadline to apply is July 31. Go here for more information on criteria and the application process.
Do Men Grieve Differently?
Karl Shackelford, a board-certified chaplain who spent many years working with hospice patients, created a podcast on how men grieve, explaining why he instituted a men-only grief group to address their support needs.
The hour-long podcast is one of many that are freely available online at End of Life University.
New 2SLGBTQ+ Tools Support Inclusive Palliative Care
People who identify as Two-Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (or questioning) or other identities (2SLGBTQ+) often face discrimination and other barriers to accessing respectful, inclusive health care.
In collaboration with 40 Canadian 2SLGBTQ+ organizations, Canadian Virtual Hospice launched “Proud, Prepared and Protected” in May. It consists of a suite of online tools to support community members, families, chosen families, and allies to access quality, inclusive care and help ensure wishes are known and respected.
The resources answer common questions (such as, “Will I have to go back in the closet if I enter a care facility?”), includes 160 video clips sharing personal experiences, and an 2SLBGTQ+ Canadian Healthcare Bill of Rights for Advanced Illness, Frailty, and End of Life.
To learn more about Canadian Virtual Hospice visit the IAHPC Global Directory of Palliative Care Institutions and Organizations.
What’s New in the IAHPC Calendar of Events
Find these new listings, and dozens of other listings, in the Calendar of events.
Argentina
Palliative Care in Intellectual Disabilities: Working Together. Virtual course. October 5, 2021. Argentina, Virtual.
El Salvador
Formador de Formadores para Cuidados Paliativos: Curso I: "Enseñar Cuidados Paliativos en Tiempos de Pandemia." Virtual course. June 11-26, 2021. Virtual, APHN.
Ireland
Palliative Emergencies and the Last Days of Life. Virtual workshop. October 6, 2021. Virtual.
Advanced Communication Skills for Healthcare Professionals in Cancer and Palliative Care. Virtual course. September 30-October 1, 2021. Virtual.
Introductory Workshop on End-of-Life Care in Residential Homes. Virtual. November 18, 2021.
India
Online Foundation Course in Palliative Care (FCPC) – ECHO. Virtual. August 6, 2021- May 6, 2022.
Online Foundation Course in Palliative Medicine for doctors (FCPM) – ECHO. Virtual. September 1, 2021–January 12, 2022.
Online Foundation Course in Palliative Nursing (FCPN) – ECHO. Virtual. September 2, 2021–January 13, 2022.
Norway
European Congress on Paediatric Palliative Care. In person. Kristiansand, Norway. September 7-9, 2022.
Singapore
Service Evaluation and Improvement of Palliative Home Care Team. APHN webinar. June 29, 2021.
USA
2nd Annual US Celebration of World Hospice & Palliative Care Day: “Leave no-one behind— equity in access to palliative care.” Online course. October 5-6, 2021.
What’s New in the Global Directory of Palliative Care Educational Programs
South Africa
USA
Master of Science in Nursing in Hospice and Palliative Care, Central Connecticut State University
What’s New in the Global Directory of Palliative Care Institutions and Organizations
Belgium
End-of-Life Care Research Group
South Africa
University of Cape Town, Division of Family Medicine, Palliative Medicine
UK
Centre for The Art of Dying Well at St. Mary's University
USA
Halcyon at Colorado Visiting Nurse Association, Colorado
International Neuropalliative Care Society, Minneapolis
Wings of Hope Hospice and Palliative Care, Phoenix
AmeriHealth Hospice Provider, Inc., California
Cancer.Net, Virginia
Courageous Parents Network, Massachusetts
Nemours Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children, Delaware
Yale New Haven Health, Bridgeport Hospital Palliative Care, Connecticut
Do you have any questions regarding the IAHPC Calendar of Events?
Each month, we publish items that may be of interest to our global readership. Contributions are welcomed.
- Content should describe opportunities to advance palliative care and improve knowledge, skills, and networking, e.g., education and training, travel grants, access to online resources, etc.
- 150 words maximum.
- Copy deadline: 20th of each month.
- Please submit your copy to the editor together with any JPEG images. 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.