Traveling Scholars Program Report
Mary B. Haule, RN
Travel date: May 30, 2018
Name of Meeting/Event/Activity: 3rd ICPCN Conference: Inspiration, Innovation, Integration
Origin: Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania / Destination: Durban, South Africa
Photos
Mary B. Haule at the conference How was this meeting/activity helpful to you?
The conference went well and was very helpful to my daily activities in palliative care especially in pain management. Also I have shared my experience in palliative care with other participants from different countries and notice that, majority of challenges are the same, like funding, morphia phobia and lack of government support.
How will you new knowledge & acquired skills help in furthering your work in hospice and palliative care in your program/city/ or country?
Education itself is one of the tools of advocacy. Therefore dissemination of knowledge to my colleagues, nearby palliative care centers and community home based palliative care teams will be one way of advocating palliative care .Moreover, giving feedback to Ocean Road Cancer Institute Management team is another advocacy to top leaders, and they will convey the message of palliative care services to cancer patients ,to top leaders in Ministry of Health of Tanzania and which will help to give more awareness in palliative care services in the country. However this will sensitize palliative care issues in the country and will lead to strengthen palliative care services and support.
How IAHPC Traveling Scholars Program be improved in order to help other future traveling scholars?
Members should be encouraged to pay their fees accordingly so as to help more members to attend meeting/workshop. Also during conferences ,your office should have a desk of joining membership so as to raise funds and this will help members to reduce transaction charge ,during transferring membership fees.
Narrative summary highlighting the needs and challanges you face
In my setting, majority of children and adults with cancer report in late stage, so there is no cure for them and the only option is palliative care. However the major problem facing them is pain and other psychosocial problems. Therefore to these patients “Cure is sometimes, relief is often and comfort should be always”. Pain (physical pain) is the number one problem to majority of cancer patients. Pain management is done inadequately. Health professional did not differentiate between nociceptive pain and neuropathic pain, they all managed the same. Therefore patients are managed wrongly and continue to suffer to the end of life. The knowledge gained from this conference will help to improve pain management to cancer patients and my colleagues will gain knowledge from my experience. Also I will work closely to pharmacist in order to make sure we get the required medicine for pain management. Moreover I will make sure that pain is managed according to WHO steps of Analgesic Ladder .