Grantee details

Traveling Scholars Program Report

Ximena Pozo Pillaga, MD

Travel date: April 14, 2016

Name of Meeting/Event/Activity: VIII Latin American Congress on Palliative Care

Origin: Quito, Ecuador / Destination: Mexico City, Mexico


How was this meeting/activity helpful to you?

Attending this event was particularly helpful for me because I could share with people involved in palliative care and the knowledge they acquired in developing public policies. Learning other experiences on these topics were my top priority because I currently work on direct palliative care, teaching and management programs at the Government Health Department in Ecuador.

How will you new knowledge & acquired skills help in furthering your work in hospice and palliative care in your program/city/ or country?

Sharing management experiences is always helpful and invigorating. I think it was very important to get in touch with other people developing these topics throughout Latin America and other countries. One of my goals was to work in opioids access since it is frequent that this medicine is no available in Ecuador. Two paths we identified: a) OMS and b) Other Latin American Countries such as Argentina with its public enterprise that can help Ecuador Health Ministry to solve this problem. It has been very profitable to keep in touch with people who have been working in palliative care projects, and their recommendations have been very wise. All the knowledge I acquired in this meeting has been in my benefit as a person, as a health worker and will be even more useful to develop the National Public Palliative Care Policy. As of the new knowledge, it has been absolutely helpful. I am already putting in practice a lot of what I learned in management, for I am working in a palliative care project within the Government Health Department in my country, Ecuador. All the information I received has been useful: ideas that have been tied to patterns, points of view, and received recommendations.

How IAHPC Traveling Scholars Program be improved in order to help other future traveling scholars?

Greater diffusion of the Scholarship Program.

Narrative summary highlighting the needs and challanges you face

Attending VIII Congress of the Latin American Association for Palliative Care in Mexico City on April 14-16, 2016 was another opportunity to share with people involved in palliative care and the knowledge they acquired in developing public policies. Furthermore the felling that a large group of people is concerned about well-being at the of end-of-life is a motivation to go on with this work. I learned about some experiences of direct care from professionals who are involved in their day a day work and from other ones that are making these activities possible because they work all over the world as policy makers. This congress helped me to confirm my top priorities:  work on direct palliative care, teaching and management programs at the Government Health Department in Ecuador. It has been very profitable to keep in touch with people who have been working in palliative care projects, and their recommendations have been very wise.  All the knowledge I acquired in this meeting has been in my benefit as a person, as a health worker and will be even more useful to develop the National Public Palliative Care Policy. Sharing management experiences is always helpful and invigorating. I think it was very important to get in other people developing these topics throughout Latin America and other countries. One of my goals was to work in opioids access since it is frequent that this medicine is no available in Ecuador. Two paths we identified:  a) OMS and b) Other Latin American Countries such as Argentina with its public enterprise that can help Ecuador Health Ministry to solve this problem. As of the new knowledge, it has been absolutely helpful.  I am already putting in practice a lot of what I learned in management, for I am working in a palliative care project within the Government Health Department in my country, Ecuador.  All the information I received has been useful: ideas that have been tied to patterns, points of view, and received recommendations.


Map