Travel date: September 17, 2017
Name of Meeting/Event/Activity: 5th Public Health Palliative Care Conference
Origin: Bradford, UK / Destination: Ottawa, Canada
For the past year I have been working upon a project - my mission was to design a framework of action that would develop civic capacity in end-of-life care in Europe. There has been significant community development in end-of-life care but civic sectors have been slow to embrace a public health approach to end-of-life care. Europe is receptive of innovative initiatives and frameworks of social organization and aims to modernize public services by introducing a participatory and co-creative mode of administration. Due to the early stages of our initiative we decided to apply for funding to set up a pan-European network that would work towards preparing public sectors to take the lead in supporting the welfare and wellbeing of citizens with end-of-life care needs. In four stages - consisting of activities that support a) public health needs identification and implications for end-of-life care, b) research, policy and practice coordination across Europe, c) civic capacity development and training, and d) dissemination and communication of priorities to European Commission and other stakeholders – the Citizen End-of-Life Care project aims to coordinate research and prepare policymakers and civic sectors in 15 European countries to develop a civic approach to end-of-life care. In my presentation at the 5th Public Health Palliative Care Conference I outlined the design of the Citizen End-of-Life Care initiative. Earlier in September my collaborators and I had submitted our bid with the COST framework. By preparing the material I had been working on for some time for presentation at an international conference I reviewed my own work and acknowledged its shortcomings. At my presentation I received very useful feedback from the audience. More specifically, I was fortunate to meet a colleague with experience in acquiring European funding for research who carefully listened to my presentation and provided constructive feedback on my work. With new insights and connections I will be able to improve the bid should I have to in the future.
The contacts that I created at the conference will give me the opportunity to travel in Europe to collaborate with experienced partners in writing bids for research funding. The collaborations will advance the objectives of public health palliative care.
The IAHPC Travelling Scholarship is a well-organised and generous scheme that helps people early in their careers to find opportunities and advance their knowledge. I think that it is meritocratic and meets targeted needs
There has been significant community development in end-of-life care but civic sectors have been slow to embrace a public health approach to end-of-life care. Europe is receptive of innovative initiatives and frameworks of social organization and aims to modernize public services by introducing a participatory and co-creative mode of administration. The Citizen End-of-Life Care project aims to coordinate research and prepare policymakers and civic sectors in 15 European countries to develop a civic approach to end-of-life care. By preparing the material I had been working on for some time for presentation at an international conference I reviewed my own work and acknowledged its shortcomings. With new insights and connections I will be able to improve the bid should I have to in the future.