2021; Volume 22, No 11, November
IAHPC Recognition Awards Now Span All Income Levels
The International Association of Hospice and Palliative Care has revised its annual Recognition Awards. This year, there will be six awards for institutions and individuals, one pair of awards for each of three categories: high-income, middle-income, and low-income countries.
Winners in each category will receive US $1,000, a certificate, and a one-year IAHPC membership. Candidates do not have to be IAHPC members, but all must be nominated by an IAHPC member.
More information and nomination forms are available here. Nominations must be received before December 31, 2021.
Award for individuals
This award recognizes individuals who have dedicated themselves to the development and provision of palliative care, thereby increasing the quality of life of patients with serious health-related suffering in their countries and abroad.
Award for institutions
This award recognizes institutions that have developed, implemented, and provide palliative care to patients and their families. The committee will evaluate indicators such as interdisciplinary care, treatment protocols in place, medication availability and accessibility, the adequacy of infrastructure/resources, education and research, and publication history.
Who is not eligible
Individuals and institutions who have received the IAHPC Recognition Award in the past are not eligible for nomination. (See past winners.) Also excluded are members of the IAHPC board of directors, officers, staff, and advisers, and institutions whose governance includes any IAHPC board or staff members.
Our New Advocacy Course: First 2 modules
IAHPC lives and breathes advocacy. Every initiative, program, policy, letter written, presentation given, event attended, discussion, phone call, and email is a step forward in advocating for palliative care services and medicines to relieve health-related suffering globally.
So it’s no surprise that our online basic advocacy course launched in January 2020 was well received, or that demand has spurred IAHPC to update and enrich it.
IAHPC’s 2021-2022 Advocacy Course comprises an Introduction and eight modules. The modules build upon one another and will be released every month until mid-2022. The Introduction is free access, but only members can access all modules, resources, and—if desired—assignments that will result in a certificate at the end of the course.
Introduction (free access, now online)
Module 1: (member login required, now online) Global advocacy framework, institutional landscape has been viewed by 59 people in 34 countries.
Module 2: (member login required, expected release: mid-November) Advocating for essential palliative care medicines
Each module comprises a PowerPoint lecture by Senior Advocacy Director Dr. Katherine Pettus, resources, followed by a brief quiz for students who wish to receive a certificate. Users are encouraged to view the videos in order, including the Introduction, as they contain background material to help them understand the modules.
If you have forgotten your IAHPC login information, select “Did you forget your membership number?” in the members’ section here. If that fails to find you, contact Genevieve Napier.
Thumbs Up For Social Media Help
IAHPC would like to optimize our social media profile! If you are a savvy user, please contact Genevieve Napier if you have the time to lend a hand—or thumb!
More Book Reviewers Sought
Many thanks to those who responded to our first call for book reviewers for the IAHPC Newsletter. We still need reviewers for newly-published books on these topics:
- dementia
- family medicine and geriatric care
- integrated care
- physician assistants
- nursing
If you are interested, but do not see your specialty, please contact us anyway. Other books will be coming our way!
Contact Newsletter Editor Alison Ramsey for more information, or to introduce yourself. Potential reviewers are asked to send their CV and a writing sample.
Top 10 Pallipedia Searches
For the 70,925 Pallipedia users throughout October, the top 10 terms visited were:
- Percentile
- Ethical principles
- Health care system
- Community health
- Evaluation
- Basic needs
- Biopsychosocial model
- Medical condition
- Urban population / Rural population
- Honesty
What’s New in the Calendar
Australia
30 Years of Impact: Insights to Lead the Future of Australian Palliative Care. Webinar, December 1, 2021.
Singapore
Conversations that Value What Matters to Patients with Serious Illnesses—A Nursing Perspective. Webinar, November 17, 2021.
UK
Compassionate Care with Namaste Training. Webinar, November 2, 2021.
Lantern Model Webinar. Webinar, November 3, 2021.
Principles and Practice of Palliative and End of Life Care for Registered Nurses, Nursing Associates and Allied Health Professionals. Virtual course, November 9-10, 2021.
End of life update for GPs. Virtual case studies. November 24, 2021.
Newly Qualified Nurses’ Community of Practice. Virtual course, November 29, 2021.
Find a workshop, seminar, congress, or conference to interest 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!
New Listings in the IAHPC Global Directories
IAHPC Global Directory of Educational Programs
India
National Fellowship in Palliative Medicine (NFPM). Institute of Palliative Medicine in collaboration with the Christian Medical Association of India
National Fellowship in Palliative Nursing (NFPN). Institute of Palliative Medicine in collaboration with the Christian Medical Association of India
Italy
Master in Palliative Care and Pain Therapy. First Level. XII Edition. The Academy of Science of Palliative Medicine (ASMEPA), Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna
Master in Higher Education and Qualification in Palliative Care. Second Level. VI Edition. The Academy of Science of Palliative Medicine (ASMEPA), Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna
IAHPC Global Directory of Institutions and Organizations
Canada
Chile
Sociedad Chilena de Medicina Familiar
Germany
Center for Palliative Medicine - University Hospital Cologne (AöR)
Mexico
Instituto Medicina del Dolor y Cuidados Paliativos A.C.
Clínica de Dolor y Cuidados Paliativos Hospital Joya
Switzerland
Do you have any questions regarding the IAHPC Calendar of Events and IAHPC Directories?
Great idea!
Paramedics to the rescue
Many municipalities in Canada are starting to rely on paramedics given the authority to administer some palliative medicines, including sedatives and opioids for pain relief. The province of Ontario was pushed to act by one person—the chief of a county paramedic service—who saw patients who wished to die at home being transported to hospital due to sudden difficulty breathing, seizures, or increased pain. The intention is not to replace palliative care physicians or family doctors, but to ease pressure on both patients and the health care system. Read more about it in a news report here.
In other news
Pioneering Nurses: This is for you!
Are you a nurse pushing the boundaries to advance the nursing profession? Are you committed to redressing inequalities related to end of life? Would you like to meet others doing similar work and create a network that could support you in the future? Do you want to be part of a community where you could have real international impact through sharing your practice?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, consider attending the free Pioneering Nursing Conference on December 2, organized by St. Christopher’s Hospice. It is a one-day virtual conference to draw on the experience of nurse pioneers around the globe. It includes real-time translation into French, Portuguese, and Spanish, with breakout discussions in these languages, as well as English.
Free End-of-Life Online Learning
End-of-Life Essentials is a website that “provides online learning and practice resources for doctors, nurses, and allied health professionals to improve the quality and safety of end-of-life care in hospitals.”
The offerings are considered essential elements for safe and high-quality end-of-life care, are aligned to Australia’s National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards, are evidence-based, and have been peer reviewed by doctors, nurses, and allied health professionals in Australia.
Learning modules include: assessing patient states of mind, patient-centered communication, recognizing the end of life, goals of end-of-life care, continuity of care, pediatric care, chronic complex illness, and how to respond to imminent death.
World Hospice and Palliative Care Day
Margret, a nurse volunteer, greets each home visit patient with a huge, comforting smile before doing an assessment of their pain and other needs, recording everything in a notebook that assures continuity of care. The visits are done on behalf of St. Francis Home-Based Care in Livingstone, Zambia. Photo used with permission.
Warming Hearts in Zambia
World Hospice and Palliative Care Day activities the world over united palliative care providers in their goal of working for change by publicizing the benefits of end-of-life care.
The Livingstone Palliative Care Team in Zambia was notable for having organized not just one, but three WHPCD activities:
- Zambezi FM radio station provided one hour of air time for Livingstone to talk to the community about their role in caring for palliative care patients.
- The team visited patients at St. Joseph’s Hospice to provide social and economic support, spiritual care, psychosocial counseling, and to deliver food donated by team members.
- They then visited patients in the community, accompanied by community caregivers from St. Francis Home-Based Care.
“Members of the palliative care team listened to the concerns of the patients,” reports Livingston chair and IAHPC member Munkombwe Wisdom. “Some patients needed someone to talk to and hear their own perception of the illness; others needed someone who could show them love and support; further, the majority needed economic support in form of food stuffs as they were too weak to engage in economic activities and their families were struggling.”
Giving help gives hope
“What a great fulfillment to give hope to a patient to live on until they die! If we can have people driven by passion, who can willingly provide palliative care even without much support for their palliative care activities, then we can say that there is hope for the future of palliative care in Zambia,” he adds.
“The Livingstone Palliative Care Team has demonstrated that we can provide palliative care within our limited means. However, we need more advocacy to gain support for palliative care. With continued advocacy, palliative care will be given more attention and, one day, no palliative care patient will be left behind, as there will be equity of access to palliative care for all.”
In view of the complexity of these needs of the elderly, Livingstone Palliative Care Team has started meeting the elderly at the Old People’s Home to assess palliative care needs and provide palliative care within our means. Here, social worker Wisdom Munkombwe provides counsel to patients, as well as listening to concerns about how to improve their quality of life. Photo used with permission.
A Status Report From All States in India
The Indian Association of Palliative Care (IAPC) drew upon this year’s World Hospice and Palliative Care Day theme, “Leave no-one behind—equity in access to palliative care,” to compile a Palliative Care Status Update for every state in the country. It is an evolving project that the IAPC intends to use to create a database on the status of palliative care in the country.
Notable facts from the update:
- Palliative care services in some capacity are now locally available in all states and union territories, except for the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Daman, Diu, and Nagar Haveli.
- Several institutions of national importance now offer, or are beginning to offer, post-graduate courses in palliative medicine.
- The government’s National Programme for Palliative Care has been successful in implementing palliative care services, as have actions by individual states, such as integrating a cancer registry staff member to a palliative care team to ensure data collection.
Pallium India’s Online Art Sale Raised More Than Money
Pallium India launched e-Manjuthulli, an online art sale and fundraiser, on World Hospice and Palliative Care Day in 2020. The sale and fundraiser lasted 18 weeks, during which 112 paintings, sculptures, and photograph were sold and a total of INR Rs 4,17,370 was raised.
But the impact of the event went beyond funds raised, report organizers. Involvement of the community increased in many ways: greater awareness of palliative care was achieved, many future collaborations were promised, Pallium India attracted new members during the event, the number of patient references increased, and more.
The event had been held in person every year since 2014, but moved online in 2020 due to COVID-19. It kicked off with a livestream event attended by a celebrated actor and activist, Dr. Bharat Mammootty, and good wishes sent by eminent personalities. All proceeds from the event supports palliative care activities, such as patient care, food rations, and educational needs of children.
Dr. Obangjungla Obangjungla, the chief medical officer in Longleng, India, speaks at a WHPCD event organized by the Eden Health Center. Since the government does not provide palliative care in her region, the private health care sector is stepping in, reports Dr. Obangjungla, whose palliative care knowledge comes from an online course provided by Pallium India. Photo used with permission.
To learn more about the Indian Association for Palliative Care (IAPC) and Pallium India, visit the IAHPC Global Directory of Palliative Care Institutions and Organizations.
Each month, we publish items that may be of interest to our global readership. Contributions are welcomed.
- Content should describe opportunities to advance palliative care and improve knowledge, skills, and networking, e.g., education and training, travel grants, access to online resources, etc.
- 150 words maximum.
- Copy deadline: 20th of each month.
- Please submit your copy to the editor together with any JPEG images. 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.
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