International Association for Hospice and Palliative Care Subject: IAHPC Newsroom Dear Members and Colleagues: 1. Message from the Chair 2. Message from the Executive Director 3. Article of the Month Regards, 4. Book Reviews PALLIATIVE CARE NURSING: Sheila Payne, Jane Seymour and Christine Ingleton (Eds) This new textbook aims to draw together the principles and evidence that underpin palliative care nursing. It is organized in a novel fashion, following the trajectory of the illness, rather than the traditional physical, psychological, social and spiritual approach. The book is divided into four parts - Encountering illness, Transitions into the terminal phase, Loss and bereavement, and Contemporary issues, the last covering nursing education, research and practice. Each Part is prefaced by an editorial Overview that provides useful orientation, but the twenty pages spent listing what the authors say in the chapters that follow seemed unnecessary. This book focuses on those facing death and emphasizes the nurses’ role in their care. There are some excellent chapters on access to palliative care, dealing with families, grief and bereavement and other topics. Some other chapters I found a little long-winded. There are also issues where the clinical evidence base has been overlooked. For example, in the two separate discussions on artificial hydration for the dying, the theories are presented but no reference made to the observational studies, never mind the randomized control trial, which suggest it is of no benefit. The discussion on euthanasia is disappointing. The author describes a “conceptual mist”, which I found to be a blinding smog. [John Keown’s “Euthanasia”, recently reviewed here, provides an erudite and crystal-clear description]. There is repeated reference to Kuhse’s work that has been publicly discredited (incidentally, by the authors of two other chapters in this book), and very little discussion of what the Dutch and Oregonians have shown us. Only on page 14, in the final paragraph, is it noted that some Dutch patients were euthanized without request or consent. But as these cases fall outside the Dutch laws, they don’t warrant discussion. And the numbers of patients involved is “marginal”. A thousand patients a year? Please! My quibbles aside, this is a very impressive book that provides in-depth discussions on a range of issues that are less fully addressed in other palliative care books. It will be of great value to nurses practising palliative care or studying it at a postgraduate level. For me, it was a little too long on theory and short on clinical facts, so it complements but does not replace the ³treatment manual² type of book. And we need both. THE STARTLED HEART: Ghazal Variations on Loss Eve Joseph Ghazal? Not in my O.E.D. But Google found it at poetrynet. So what is a Ghazal? It is a poem of 5 to 15 couplets, written in a particular form, according to traditions originating in ancient Urdu and Persian. Now that we’ve cleared that up, we can talk about the book. This is a wonderful collection of 45 ghazals that are a celebration of life, and death, written by a counselling psychologist who works at the Victoria Hospice in Vancouver, British Columbia. Her professional experience and insight made the poems, for me, feel authentic and real. If you like poetry, or you want something to help you think about what you do everyday, buy this little volume. The way the man dying of leukemia, said: “Death has been here three nights THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO RELIEVING Richard B. Patt and Susan S. Lang This book is the thoroughly revised and updated version of the 1994 book “You Don¹t Have To Suffer” by the same authors. It is a well-written and comprehensive handbook for cancer patients and their caregivers. The first section deals with cancer pain - what it is, what causes it, and how it should be assessed. The fourth chapter in this section empowers patients and their families to actively participate in the management of pain and provides checklists of what to ask the doctor and what to expect. The second section gives detailed descriptions of analgesics, adjuvant drugs and there is a chapter on anesthetic procedures. The third section provides help in dealing with common symptoms and side effects and there is a chapter on mind-body approaches to easing pain. The last two chapters on “Dealing with Feelings” and “If Death Approaches” will be particularly valuable for caregivers and clearly explains what to expect and what you can do about it. There are appendices that include where to find more information, the foreign (non-USA) names for the common drugs, instructions for relaxation exercises, and detailed information about advanced care planning. This will be an invaluable resource for people caring for patients with cancer and pain, particularly if they are being managed at home. The information is well set-out and clearly explained, and there is a glossary of medical terms included.
M. R. Rajagopal, David Mazza and Arthur G. Lipman (Eds) Two-thirds of those in need of palliative care live in developing countries that have less than ten percent of the world’s resources in terms of health care personnel, drugs and equipment. I have to admit I would have thought that the needs were even greater and the resources less. As Jan Stjernsward says in his introduction, this book offers a banquet of papers that describe pioneering work on the front lines of pain and palliative care service planning and implementation in developing countries. There are papers describing the development of programs in India, Chile, Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Uganda, Papua New Guinea, and Kenya. There are also chapters on ethics, spiritual care, education and research in the context of developing countries. The book is enhanced by having a thoughtful two-page editorial commentary after each of the papers. The importance of the IAHPC program of Travelling Fellowships is acknowledged in an editorial commentary following David Allbrook¹s report from Kenya and Nell Muirden’s report from Papua New Guinea, although two of the other authors in this book were IAHPC Travelling Fellows and a third was a Travelling Scholar. The enormity of the problems described in this book are daunting, but it is interesting to read because it is written by highly motivated people who are out there trying to do something about it. KINDNESSES. A Journey Through the Seasons of Grief - Poems, Prayers and Joyous Observations Terry Walton This is a well-written and beautifully presented little book that would be a most useful present for a friend or family member who is grieving. I quote the comments of two other reviewers, which aptly describe this book. “With tenderness and delicacy, Kindnesses exposes the raw wound of loss to the healing light of truth and memory. Terry Walton’s voice is singular and so very attentive to the small things that help the mourner heal.” Rabbi Jeffrey K. Salkin “I love the connection with flowers and plants, the enhanced feelings of renewal and rebirth.” Hospice Patients Services Director.
5. IAHPC Travelling Fellowship Reports REPORT ON THE TRIP TO MOLDOVA Background After three physicians from Hospice Angelus in Moldova finished their training in Poznan’s Hospice Palium Palliative Care Resource & Training Center, Professor Luczak visited the Republic of Moldova (RM) for the first time in May 2003. During his stay he met several palliative and hospice care individuals as well as delegates of Ministry of Health. Encouraged by Dr Irina Baikalov, the director of Second Breath Hospice in Balti to visit Moldova again, Professor Luczak applied and received an IAHPC Traveling Fellowship grant. Aims of the visit: To identify the current epidemiological situation, the Palliative Care needs and determine the current status of hospice programs and share experiences and knowledge on PC principles, policy, education, cancer pain management and morphine availability To gather PC leaders, professionals including oncologists, AIDS specialist, nurses and volunteers with the delegates of Ministry of Health and the Agency for Drug Control to discuss the urgent problems and obstacles in developing palliative care in RM. SUMMARY OF VISIT First, a visit to Hospice “Zubresti-North Carolina” and then a home visit to an 83 year old patient with breast cancer. The Hospice director presented a summary of the development of the Hospice and the project of the creation a 20 bed Hospice with the financial support from North Carolina, USA. The hospice is planned to open in October 2004 as the first inpatient unit in Moldova. Visit to Balti, where a meeting with the team from the “Second Breath” took place. Due to a limitation on the amount allowed for prescription (10 ampoules per week), patients from Balti can’t receive the necessary dosage of morphine. Some commercial preparations of potent analgesics are available, but too expensive. In addition, family members are obliged to take back to the policlinic the empty ampoules of used morphine!
Visit to the Oncological Institute Meeting in Soros Foundation Moldova Center (SFM). Meeting with Mr. Gherman, Minister of Health of Moldova. Professor Luczak spoke about the visits to the existing Hospices in Moldova, the importance of changing the restrictive policy of opioid prescription in Moldova and the effectiveness of oral Morphine. Mr. Gherman agreed on the importance of PC. Also, he talked about making oral morphine available in Moldova, and in setting up a Palliative Care Task Force Group attached to the MOH. He also emphasized the importance of HIV/AIDS infected people and the care they receive and role of nurse initiatives and nursing education. June 17-18, the seminar “Palliative Care” took place in Chisinau. Participants of a workshop on opioid availability and PC policy development, lead by Maria Ivancov, worked out the recommendation and steps in developing of palliative care. Important steps in developing PC in Republic of Moldova 1. Accepting a unique approach of cancer pain management and PC in RM according to the WHO guidelines. opioid prescription increasing the dosage and the quantity of opioids the right of who can prescribe the opioid 4. Introducing new oral immediate release form of opioids – oral morphine solution preparing by pharmacist from powder
(registration, import of free of charge substance from Polfa Kutno with support of Polish Embassy Education in PC 1. Elaborating nationally agreed upon guidelines of cancer pain management and PC PC Policy Development 1. Recognizing palliative medicine and PC as a separate compartment of medicine Improving opioid availability 1. Allowing the GP who takes care of the patient to prescribe opioids Evaluation of the Seminar: This was the first time in Moldova that a Seminar in PC was organized with the participation of an international expert, the Polish Embassy, professors from Medical State University, Ministry of Health, Oncological Institute, representatives from Medical colleges from Moldova, Drug Control Committee, NGOs and people who deal with PC/Hospice in Moldova. The participants of the Seminar showed a great interest in studying the problems and development of PC in Moldova. As a group discussion the participants elaborated some recommendations on development of PC in Moldova, it was a task that was a beginning of their joint collaboration. The Resolution/Recommendations of the Seminar were given to the Ministry of Health through the Polish Embassy. The event was featured in the National mass media – TV, radio, newspapers, as it was organized a Press Conference at the end of Seminar. Due to the restricted policies the dying patients rarely die in hospitals, the majority die at home in great sufferings. About 87% from these categories die at home without an adequate care. In RM there 3 nongovernmental Hospices (Chisinau, Balti, Zubresti) and other nursing initiatives having the aim to alleviate suffering and improve the quality of life of the dying were founded. These organizations offer palliative care to the patients free of charge. The services which are offered by professionals in PC are not included in the National Program of Medical Insurance. It is a matter of urgency to change the governmental policies that need to contain PC/Hospice in the National Program of Medical Insurance financially covered by CNAM. The support and the collaboration with the Ministry of Health is very important and should be done through the Council in PC composed by representatives from the Ministry of Health and interested people who will be able to reach the above mentioned objectives. Prof. Luczak’s last day ended with visit to Hospice Angelus Moldova. He met the team, discussed their achievements (rising
number of patients cared, lots of training and education also abroad (St Christopher’ Hospice, International Seminars in Palliative Care in Gdansk, Poland) and their project to set up an training
center at the hospice (they taught GP and family nurses in PC and would like to extend the program). As someone involved in supporting development of hospice/palliative care in Moldova, I found this grant by IAHPC an important step forward. The main goals of the visit were realized, but there are still many things to do to improve the care of dying. Activities of the hospice leaders must be supported by the government, the prescription policy must be changed, and implementation of oral morphine is urgently needed. Formation of the Palliative Care Task Force Group as an advising body attached to the Ministry of Health and cooperation with the University of Medical Sciences can be helpful in further development. We recently made arrangements to provide a doctor and a nurse from hospice Zubresti with training in our hospice (Poznan, Poland) this July and an oncologist from Chisinau Oncological Institute in November. In the future, cooperation with our Moldovan colleagues we will be continuously supported by Polish Embassy. The full text of this Travelling Fellow’s report is available on our website at URL: IAHPC Travelling Fellowship Report IAHPC report on Teaching Project to Siberia Project Background In April 2003 a new 24 bed hospice opened in Prokopjvesk a large mining town in the Kuzbass region of Siberia, FSU. The town was a prime location for such a care development, having been identified by the regional cancer figures for several years previously as having the highest incidence of the disease in the population. The new hospice was in the planning stages for six years, having been the vision of one Nadya Adamova, Chief Nurse at one of the city’s nursing homes for the marginalized. She had attended lectures on Palliative Care given by Maureen Gill and a visiting Palliative care team to Kemerovo Regional Hospice in 1998. With the help of the Chief of the local health Administration in Propkopyvesk, Dr.Nikolay Zinevsky, and in corroboration with Maureen Gill, the vision of a hospice for the city became a reality. At the hospice opening ceremony, Dr Zinevsky apprehensive about the lack of training in the speciality for hospice staff approached
Maureen Gill. Visit to Prokopyvesk Our main aim was to provide staff with a basis of knowledge in Palliative Care by offering stimulating and high quality lectures. This information needed to be based on frameworks that could be adapted to the Russian culture and take into account the lack of many medicines and services. Lectures were delivered in the hospice itself. Whilst the room was adequate for the numbers attending on any given day, there was a lack of any aids to teaching. The lack of equipment meant long periods for students to listen to only translated material and could not have helped to hold their interest. Staff present varied in number depending on their manager being able to release them from the workplace at any given time but generally varied from 15-50. As well as the staff from the hospice, hospitals and nursing homes were represented. The meetings were multi- disciplinary and this is a step forward in Russia where it has been previously difficult to reach doctors and nurses in the same group. We were particularly pleased that as time passed, students felt confident enough to be more and more interactive and the more formal lectures began to take on a more relaxed atmosphere. Many had only previously experienced a more didactic method of teaching and time is needed to change this and to allow individuals to realise they are not being judged or tested by tutors, and that their opinions are valued. Some began to stay behind after lectures for more informal discussions on all aspects of Palliative Care. We had prepared a full programme for students, but because of the time taken to interpret as well as other matters, time was
the curtailing factor. Valuable discussions with Dr Nikolay Zinevsky and the Chief Dr. of the hospice Dr. Vladimir Zhebenkov took place often at mealtimes and at the end of the working day. Our hosts were extremely generous and most hospitable. We hope these deliberations will prove fruitful in the future development of the hospice as well as more broadly the furthering of Palliative Care in the region under the leadership of Dr Zinvesky, a man of great insight. We took the opportunity to visit the city of Kemerovo during our stay at the kind invitation of Dr. Olga Berezikova, the Director. Although Maureen Gill had previously played a part in teaching at this hospice, it had changed its location and had been under the responsibility of a different Director. It was decided to accept this invitation in order to re-establish good working relationships with this unit. Fortunately we were also given several opportunities to teach and exchange ideas with staff and again Dr. Berezikova was most hospitable and hopes for future collaboration in teaching of Palliative care for her staff and other interested parties. She arranged a meeting for us with the Deputy Chief of her Health Administration, who voiced his hope that we may consider a new partnership for future cooperation. Whilst in Kemerovo we were also invited to visit the City Hospice and have discussions with staff working there. Many doors
were opened for us and this was most encouraging. Maureen Gill had prepared a simple evaluation form for the students. It became evident; however, that staff had not previously used this methodology. Some did attempt to complete the evaluation forms. Themes emerged from both these documents and the verbal opinions of the participants. These are: Topics were of real interest and relevance to day-to-day work at the hospice. Verbal feedback was positive and there was a real feeling of hunger for knowledge, genuine interest in all that was being discussed. We felt that students were impressed that we valued their contributions and we tried to support and praise them for the impressive work they are doing at the cutting edge of Palliative Care in their country. The Way Forward. The way forward should be carefully considered at this time. Maureen Gill has been involved with developments in Palliative Care in this region for seven years now and it would seem an ideal time to plan the best way to consolidate this work. One suggestion has been that a new formal partnership should be set up. The purpose of this would be to identify and train Russian teachers of palliative care. This is an interesting prospect and one that deserves serious consideration. It is not possible to perpetuate teaching trips of this nature. Monies are becoming more and more difficult to obtain and with ever rising costs, more and more expensive to fund. Time and travel over such a great distance, geo-physical barriers and huge cultural differences add to the problems. There is now enough knowledge and interest in Palliative Care for individuals regionally to recognise if it is the area of work in which they would like to specialise as teachers. Another way to move the service forward would be to do a “shadowing” trip with a physician and a Nurse Specialist actually spending mornings working at the bedside with Siberian colleagues and discussing patient care and decision making in the afternoons. Our Russian colleagues are asking us for more help and support in their work in any way possible and these two methods would give positive outcomes. We should also be continuing in some areas to continue to train and update. Conditions and support for the dying and those facing life-threatening illnesses has considerably improved over the years and help for those in the field of Palliative Care and must be continued as a real humanitarian cause. 6. Regional Reports: AFRICAN PALLIATIVE CARE ASSOCIATION (APCA) Excerpts copied from the APCA Newsletter and republished here with permission. The meeting brought together the growing number of palliative care practitioners across Africa to discuss the challenges and share experiences of delivering palliative care in resource poor countries. The event’s aim was to consolidate APCA as the organisation charged with promoting palliative care across the continent by coordinating efforts to provide training, support and standards of care for professionals and others involved in palliative care delivery. The meeting started with the first ever AGM for APCA and a selection of its board of directors. The AGM was followed by a two day conference to share experiences of palliative care provision in sub-Saharan Africa. On the
last day there was a consultative meeting with representatives of President Bush’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). More than $2.2 billion of the $15 billion pledged by the US government
against HIV/AIDS in Africa has been earmarked for palliative care. This is the first global commitment of this magnitude and, APCA members hope, provides a major opportunity for the scaling up of palliative
care provision across the continent. Despite the huge numbers of people needing treatment and care as a result of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, the provision of palliative care remains extremely limited in sub-Saharan Africa. Few governments have mobilized the policies and resources to ensure that doctors, nurses and other professionals are equipped to provide appropriate and affordable care to the millions of people who need it. The availability of drugs for controlling pain and treating opportunistic infections remains a lottery. In some countries, restrictive laws which prevent or limit the use of oral morphine, for example, mean that patients and their families are suffering unacceptable levels of pain and distress unnecessarily. Representatives from hospices and other programmes which provide home-based palliative care in different communities across 22 African countries came together for the event. The gathering also included donors to these programmes, including The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund, The Open Society Institute (SOROS) and representatives of President Bush’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), Help the Hospices, The Catholic Relief Society, The National Hospice and Palliative Care Association (NHPCO), The Federation of Hospices in Sub-Saharan Africa (FHSSA) and a representative from the Global Fund’s Technical Review Panel. The highlights The first edition of the APCA journal of palliative care was launched. Julia Downing, the Journal’s co-editor noted,
“In the palliative care training declaration signed in Cape Town—three things stood out for me and there were the need for:
APCA’s Role Participants embraced APCA’s new board and agreed that APCA will be catalyst for Promote the availability of palliative care for all in need. ??Encourage governments in sub-Saharan Africa to support affordable and appropriate palliative care which is incorporated into the whole spectrum of health care services. Promote the availability of palliative care drugs for all in need. ??Encourage the establishment of national palliative care associations in all African countries. Promote palliative care training programmes suitable for sub-Saharan African countries. Regional Report: Cuba In Cuba it is estimated that there are over 250 000 terminally ill patients. Most of them receive care at the primary health
level from their family physicians, and also the vast majority will die at home and will receive assistance from diverse specialists in hospital or at home through the National Palliative Care Program.
The program explored almost all aspects of Palliative Care, starting with the Cecily Saunders definition, W.H.O.’s definition; Jenny Kwakwa’s which included the aim for a good death: "To enhance the living time left, to each and all those dying, to aim for a ‘good death’ and to help
the carers (both family/friends and health professionals) cope during the dying stages and for the future" Then we crucially defined the timescale of palliative and curative juxtaposition, terminal, and the last few days of life,
issues. Topics covered included: symptom control, specific life limiting illnesses, breaking bad news, spiritual aspects, ethics, and euthanasia. During the lectures there often emerged confrontations
between cultures, but this was beneficial for the participants because many of the mistakes or myths presently visible in our practice had already appeared in England, and this experience proved helpful
in promoting good palliative care in our country. For example on the initial quiz, holistic aspects in palliative care were evaluated, and this reflected how different the approach is to dying patients
in Cuba, and some therapeutic myths regarding the use of morphine, were explored. The discussion about the quiz was by itself an entire lecture, and it was so profitable that it was included at the
beginning of all lectures. We identified breaking bad news as one of our main goals in promoting palliative care in Cuba. Cuban practice is to not tell the patient about the diagnosis, neither about
the time limit of the disease, nor about cancer, “how to break bad news” was always an intense session because it pushed attendees to think about how common it is not to tell patients the
truth, even when they requested it. Mostly the Cuban medical staff obeys the family decision of trying to protect the terminally ill person from suffering, and to protect themselves as well, frightened
as they may be by mythical fears for example that the patient may commit suicide. In fact, we were showing evidence to the contrary - few patients committed suicide, and not knowing the truth is a major
cause of suffering and leaves the patient without the opportunity of making decisions about the last period of his or her life. In the same way in the last minutes of all teaching was a short PowerPoint
lecture titled, “If I were dying I would like…” in which critical aspects of care from the dying patient’s viewpoint were silently read, pointing to the need for a patient’s
care to be carefully balanced between medical decisions, psycho-social decisions, family decisions, religions considerations, etc., and the humanistic perspective of those caring for dying patients. Regional Report : UK Two related news items may interest, and even challenge, readers. Judges in the High Court of the UK have just (July 2004) ruled that doctors will only have the right to withdraw treatment from patients if their lives have become intolerable. The ruling came in a case brought by a terminally ill man with a degenerative condition, who argued that it should be for him, and not his doctors, to decide whether to withdraw artificial feeding from him after he is unable to move or speak. Until now the decision whether or not to continue with hydration, feeding etc. was largely based on doctors’ assessments of ‘quality of life.’ Now the General Medical Council will have to replace its ‘ quality of life’ guidelines with a tougher ‘ intolerability’ test. The London ’ Times’ commented that “ the ruling reflects a shift of power from the medical profession and into the hands of patients. It also, however, forms part of a less welcome shift in power, out of the hands of practitioners and into the arms of the courts.” ( Saturday July 31) Assisted suicide is firmly back on the UK agenda. Baroness Warnock, the brilliant academic and author of the report some years ago which came down against it has declared that she is now persuaded of its worth. One of the UK’s three leading political parties - The Liberal Democrats - has made it a party political issue. A recent opinion poll has shown that 80% of the British public are in favour of assisted suicide. All of us in palliative care will surely welcome discussion of patient rights and patient autonomy, and applaud anything which reminds us and our clinical colleagues of the necessity to discuss everything with our patients and to be aware of their wishes, difficult as that can be when they change so frequently with every twist and turn in their condition. Presumably we shall welcome this further reminder, if any was needed, that palliative care always has a place, always focuses on quality of life, and always puts the patient at the centre of our thinking. Will we be left wondering how ‘ intolerability’ will be defined by individual patients, how it might be measured, and how patients unable to communicate with us will inform us of their wishes? Will it be long before we discover, what some of us have long suspected, that assisted suicide is the thin end of the wedge, the last step before legalisation of euthanasia? Today’s news items will make good discussion points for our patients and topics for our tutorials but, worldwide, they deserve more serious attention than this and who better to address such issues than those of us who work in palliative care. 7. Paediatric Palliative Care Excerpts from a Newsletter from Australia Stefan J. Friedrichsdorf, MD, Fellow, Paediatric Pain & Palliative Care Office: +61-2-9845 1089 8. Newsletter Paediatric Palliative Care July 2004 Conferences & Workshops Conferences & Workshops 25-28 August 28 2004, Copenhagen, Denmark 13-19 September 2004, Highfield, Southampton, UK 15–18 September 2004, Oslo, Norway 16-17 September 2004, Coogee Beach, Sydney, Australia 16-18 September 2004, Auckland, New Zealand 19-23 September, 2004, Montreal, Canada 26-29 September 2004, Edinburgh, UK 29 September – 2 October 2004 – Bucharest, Romania 14-17 October, 2004, White Point Beach Resort, Nova Scotia, Canada 12-14 November, 2004, Dearborn, Michigan, USA 2-3 December 2004, Cardiff, UK 17-19 February 2005, Recklinghausen, Germany 4 March 2005, Sydney, Australia 6-10 April 2005, Aachen, Germany 17-21 August 2005, Vancouver, Canada
The National Center for Death Education, Mount Ida College, in collaboration 9. Webmaster's Corner Welcome to the Webmaster's
Corner! New Browser Buddy - You may have noticed a new feature we have on selected pages named the IAHPC Browser
Buddy. With this you can save the current page, Search the page, look a word up in the dictionary, print the page and save it in your favorites/Bookmarks. The IAHPC Fact Sheets are now available in Portuguese and to download in MS.Word Format in Portuguese. Our Book & Video Shop has has a few changes in the navigation to help you find
your way around better. The International Directory has had 14 new listings this month, a great resource for all. Have a hospice and/or palliative care related question? Or just want to discuss hospice & palliative care issues? Coming Events! Do you have a Hospice & Palliative Care event you wish to promote? Did you know you can Subscribe &
Save Up To 80% on popular magazine subscriptions while helping the IAHPC! What's Coming! Until next month! 10. Editor's Notes PROGRESS IN PALLIATIVE CARE & THE IAHPC We are delighted to announce that, from 2004, Progress in Palliative Care will be including a regular column from the IAHPC. Progress in Palliative Care has recently appointed a new Editor-in-Chief (Professor David Currow at the Flinders University of South Australia) and international editorial board. Journal mission Progress in Palliative Care is a multidisciplinary journal with an international perspective. It is published six times a year by Maney Publishing (www.maney.co.uk) on behalf of Leeds Medical Information. It provides a central point of reference for all members of the multi-disciplinary palliative care community: medical consultants, nurses, hospital support teams, home care teams, hospice directors and administrators, pain centre staff, social workers, chaplains, counsellors, information staff, paramedical staff and self-help groups. The emphasis of the journal is on the rapid exchange of information amongst those working in palliative care. Progress in Palliative Care is a journal that embraces all aspects of the management of the problems of end-stage disease. It provides a single forum for current trends and controversies, and a major listing of the international research literature, including that which is novel and pertinent though not widely available. Material for the whole multi-disciplinary palliative care community is brought together in one journal. It is published on the premise that the field is expanding so fast and that published information is so widely scattered that a single, easily digestible source, with a strong research orientation, is essential to enable colleagues to keep abreast of new developments. Contents include: Invited critical reviews of the relevant field by experts in all aspects of palliative care Comprehensive bibliography of recent research based articles published in the international journal literature. Compiled by an experienced team of indexers at Leeds Medical Information the bibliography is drawn from over 1000 journals and references are published within 1-8 weeks of original publication. International perspectives including profiles of palliative care initiatives and issues from across the globe, and a regular feature from the International Observatory on End of Life Care During 2004 a new section looking at the literary, ethical and holistic aspects of palliative care from both patient and professional perspectives is being developed.
Since 2003 the review-based content has been available free of charge to subscribers via the Ingenta Journals Service at www.ingenta.com/journals/browse/maney More information For further details about the Journal, please visit www.maney.co.uk/journals/palliative Special subscription offer to members of the IAHPC Progress in Palliative Care is available to members of the IAHPC at a specially reduced rate for 2004. A subscription includes access to the online content. The 2004 rates are as follows (six issues): Europe: £75.00 USA: $120.00 Rest of World: £75.00 To arrange your subscription, please contact: Publications Sales Department, Maney Publishing, Hudson Road,
Leeds LS9 7DL, UK NEW COURSE on END OF LIFE CARE The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) is offering a new continuing education course, "Understanding End of Life Care: The Social Worker's Role," through the association's NASW WebED online training Web site, www.naswwebed.org The course, which launched in June, is free and provides 2.0 continuing education unit hours for social workers who complete the content and take the exam. The course was developed as part of a Open Society Institute's Project on Death in America grant to advance social work practice in end of life care. The course targets social workers working with individuals and their loved ones who are coping with issues surrounding death and dying. Social workers addressing these concerns work in a range of practice settings, including healthy and mental health agencies, hospitals, hospices, nursing homes, day care and senior centers, correctional systems, substance abuse programs and others. The course is designed to increase social wokers' knowledge about the complexities of end of life care in the United States and to help them gain information, skills and resources that will enhance their practice in end of life practice. Meetings 8th Annual Interdisciplinary Approach to Palliative Medicine in Cancer Care Developing and Managing Human Resources in Palliative Care The Development and Philosophies of Palliative Care Developing and Managing Human Resources in Palliative Care
African Psycho Oncology Society The American Psychosocial Oncology Society (APOS) Hospice and Palliative Care: Current Issues
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