Each month, we publish a selection of items that may be of interest to our global readership. Contributions are welcomed; we reserve the right to edit content.
Please also consider promoting your education and training events in the IAHPC Global Directory of Education in Palliative Care. It’s quick and easy — just submit your content online.
Dr. Margo Munroe, a palliative care physician in the Bahamas, had this to say the day after Hurricane Dorian finally moved off the battered island:
“Hurricane Dorian proved to be unpredictable in many regards, including the level of devastation wreaked upon the islands of Abaco and Grand Bahama in the northern part of the Bahamian archipelago. A coordinated, multi-faceted approach is being crafted and executed, with the deployment of technical teams and delivery of much-needed resources occurring simultaneously in the two affected islands.
“This level of devastation is a new experience for the Bahamas. It is a dynamic situation with many unknowns and — in the midst of the havoc, horrors and tragedies — an opportunity for growth in many different areas.”
WHO has published a guide on palliative care in emergencies for policy experts and clinical teams, “Integrating Palliative Care and Symptom Relief Into the Response to Humanitarian Emergencies and Crises.” We suggest that you download this free guide, and familiarize yourself with it so you are aware of what measures to take should you be called on to lend a hand in such situations.
IAHPC will be doing some work on palliative care and the climate emergency as part of the WHO agenda for the next few years. If you are interested in contributing, please contact IAHPC Advocacy Officer Dr. Katherine Pettus.
The volunteer-run Palliative Care Network has launched a series titled: “Intersection of Spiritual Care and Palliative Care.” The series explores the multinational and multicultural understanding of the intersection of spiritual care and palliative care, and the contribution that spiritual care can bring to palliative care. Each one is a pdf, structured as a brief introduction to the person interviewed (one page), plus a short question-and-answer segment.
They are notable for their brevity (each takes just a few minutes to read) and clarity. Each begins by answering: What does Spirituality mean to you?
The first interviews are with: Robert Brazie, an ordained United Methodist Pastor serving as a Palliative Care Chaplain for Kaiser Permanente Hospital in Fresno, California, USA; and Andrej Petranovic, a physician who is part of a three-person mobile palliative care team, with Community Health Center Velika Gorica. Their team is the first palliative care service provider in the region of Gorica, a town near the capital city of Zagreb, Croatia.
All interviews in this series, including an overall introduction, can be accessed here.
Say No to Pain is a two-minute bilingual film, featuring Pallium India president Dr. M.R. Rajagopal, that was created by Hollywood Health and Society. It is described as “an attempt to bring home” the message to the public that patients suffer emotional as well as physical anguish, but that their “total pain” can be relieved by palliative care.
October 1 is the International Day of Older Persons, a day initiated nearly 20 years ago by the United Nations General Assembly. Today, the worldwide population of those 65 and older is on the cusp of a massive surge; the Washington-based Population Reference Bureau pegs it at 9% now, reaching 18% by 2050.
Earlier this year, IAHPC submitted a missive to the UN asking that a binding convention on the rights of older persons include the right to access palliative care. Want to let others know the ways in which your organization or institution provides palliative care particular to older persons? Tell us, and we’ll share it in the newsletter.
To see the full range of activities worldwide, or to add your own, go to the Worldwide Hospice Palliative Care Alliance website here. The theme this year is “My Care, My Right.”
The U.S.-based Center to Advance Palliative Care is reminding palliative care personnel of its free resources to aid in “Implementing Best Practices in Dementia Care.” It has compiled a toolkit that includes material on:
The clinical tools section, for instance, provides information on and links to validated tools that assess cognitive function, the needs of those living with dementia, and caregiver health and well-being. It also includes a video on bringing comfort to those living with advanced dementia, and another on supporting caregivers and people living with dementia.
International Palliative Care Network Poster Exhibition 2019. This virtual exhibit can be visited from 15 November to 15 December 2019. The deadline for submissions is 30 September. See more information here.
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Find the workshop, seminar, congress, or conference that speaks to you in the IAHPC Calendar of Events, updated monthly, that lists activities of special interest to those who work in palliative care. Or submit an event for consideration; it’s free!
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