IAHPC Faculty Development
Program Report
PROJECT : THE PALLIATIVE CARE FACUTY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
SPONSOR : INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF HOSPICE & PALLIATIVE CARE
BENEFICIARY : MUHIMBILI UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES
IMPLEMENTNG AGENCY : OCEAN ROAD CANCER INSTITUTE (ORCI)
FACULTY RECIPIENT: DR. MSEMO B.DIWANI
REPORT PERIOD: SEPTEMBER – NOVEMBER.
Background:
The IAHPC’s faculty development project was initiated in order to insure the incorporation of palliative care into the mainstream of the medical and nursing curriculum. The program is designed to promote and support palliative care leaders in developing countries where there are great unmet needs. The requirements of terminally ill patients in developing countries may be similar in many ways to those of patients in the western world, but the approach to care is certainly different. There are cultural, social and economic differences and hence there is a need to develop local leaders and advocates who will provide a genuinely unique local perspective to the care of patients in their region.
Success and Challenges:
Many successes have been reported in our previous reports as well as the challenges and failures. The CEO of ORCI who is also the local project supervisor has submitted an overall report on the performance of project since it was started. This report will highlight what has occurred between September and November, 2006. The project was designed to pursue two main objectives at both the faculty and national levels. Progress has been made in both areas and ORCI is proud that it is now considered a resource centre for palliative care in this country – a result of IAHPC’s faculty development initiative.
During this period, we have managed to develop and strengthen collaboration with the National AIDS Control Program which is the main representative of the government on HIV/AIDS issues including the palliative care policy. They have admitted in principle that their home based care training curricula does not address palliative care needs. Because of this, we have been invited to provide input during the review process in order to introduce proper palliative care. This is expected to occur in February 2007. For us, this is great accomplishment because once palliative care is in the curriculum of the HIV/AIDS training package there is no way the government can ignore it. Several advocacy meetings and palliative care seminars organized at ORCI helped to bring this about. I was able to achieve this because of my position as a head of palliative care at ORCI, and as chairperson of the Tanzania Palliative Care Association Board (TPCA). Various palliative care training courses will be conducted in 2007 at ORCI using community funds. I give credit to Dr. Ngoma for giving palliative care a priority during budgeting and to IAHPC for contributing an important human resource. TPCA will also be active in advocacy and training during the coming year and ORCI palliative care personnel will play a leading role in this together with APCA after getting the promised funds from USAID/PEPFRAR.
On a personnel note, my MPhil distant learning program is going well. During this time I extensively covered important paediatric palliative care modules. This was very useful for it shaped my practice here at the Institute as well as my teaching. Paediatric palliative care was either forgotten or ignored at the time when I received preliminary training in palliative care over 10 years ago. Further contact meetings on this special subject will be carried out in March during my visit to Dr. Meiring’s paediatric palliative care facility in Johannesburg and also during my visit with the paediatric pain team at the Red Cross children hospital in Cape Town .
PRCO has finalized plans to train 30 newly recruited nurses and doctors on basic principles and practices of palliative care during 2007. Because of the nature of our work at ORCI, every nurse and doctor ought to be acquainted with the principles of palliative care in order to perform well.
There has been an increase in the number of HIV/AIDS patients, with their associated malignancies, who have come to ORCI for palliative care services. This is because we have raised awareness of our service to the general public. This has also increased the work load in our ARV clinic where the team plays an important role on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
On the research front, two palliative care based projects have received approval by our ethics committee. One will look at the quality of life of cancer patients receiving treatment at ORCI and the other will compare attitudes toward the use of oral morphine for the control of pain by health care personnel at ORCI and their counterparts at the Muhimbili National Hospital . The Muhimbili National Hospital is the country’s largest hospital where palliative care is still lacking. Efforts have been made to organize training at this hospital, but we have not yet succeeded.
Conclusion:
The palliative care faculty development program has achieved a great deal despite the many challenges both at the faculty and national level. More academicians and policy makers are now aware of the importance of this service and are raising their voices in support of it. Owing to the bureaucratic nature of our systems, both at the faculty and nation at large, the pace of change is rather slow and gradual. I believe that after more advocacy we will attain most, if not all, of the objectives set out for this project. |
