L-R: IAHPC Board Member Dr. Alejandra Palma (Chile) with Tania Pastrana and myself.
IAHPC at the ALCP Congress in Cartagena, Colombia
By Liliana De Lima, MHA
IAHPC Executive Director
This past month, the IAHPC attended the XI Congress of the Latin American Association for Palliative Care (ALCP) in Cartagena. It was a great opportunity—and a wonderful feeling— to see colleagues and give real hugs in person.
Senior Advocacy and Partnerships Director Katherine Pettus gave a presentation on international advocacy and the role of the IAHPC, and Research Advisor Tania Pastrana gave a plenary address on place of death in Latin America.
IAHPC Scholarship recipients at the congress
We were thrilled to support, through the IAHPC Scholarship Program, the participation of eight IAHPC members from Latin American countries:
Willians Antonio López Chacón
Physician, El Salvador
Julio Cesar Rojas Tencio
Physician, Costa Rica
Jeniffer Baque Hidalgo
Physician, Ecuador
Vanessa Rocío Orellana Caro
Physician, Bolivia
Nicolás Dawidowicz
Physician, Argentina
Fátima Rodríguez
Social worker, El Salvador
Alexandra Aceituno
Psychologist, Guatemala
Júlia Drummond de Camargo
Nurse, Brasil
Best Poster winners
As for previous congresses, the IAHPC offered prizes for the three best posters as selected by the scientific committee. The winners receive a one-year IAHPC membership and cash prizes: first place $300, second $200, and third $100.
L-R: President of the congress scientific committee Dr. Gustavo De Simone, award recipient Dr. Vilma Tripodoro, IAHPC representative Lina Rozo, and President of the Latin American Association for Palliative Care Dr. Paola Ruiz.
The first-place winner was Vilma Tripodoro, coordinator, RED-In-Pal, Instituto Pallium Latinoamérica; research fellow, ATLANTES Global Observatory of Palliative Care; investigator, Instituto Cultura y Sociedad, Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain.
Poster: Assessment of Health Professionals Perceived Self-Efficacy on Shared Care Planning (SCP) in ALS Patients: Design, Multicenter Implementation, and Evaluation of a Training Program in Argentina. [Evaluación de la autoeficacia percibida por profesionales de la salud sobre la Planificación compartida de la atención (PCA) en pacientes con ELA: diseño, implementación multicéntrica y evaluación de un programa de capacitación en Argentina.]
Second place: Carlos Julio Roldan, associate professor, Department of Pain Medicine, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, USA.
Poster: Methylene Blue for Intractable Oral Mucositis Pain Associated with Cancer Treatment: A Randomized Phase 2 Clinical Trial. [Azul de metileno para el dolor intratable por mucositis oral relacionada con el tratamiento del cáncer: un ensayo clínico aleatorizado de fase 2]
L-R: Gustavo De Simone (Argentina), Carmen Priscila Valdez (Peru), Paola Ruiz (Colombia), Lina Rozo (IAHPC) and Ana Restrepo (IAHPC).
Third place: Ana María Higuita, Pain and Palliative Care Doctor, Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana, Medellin, Colombia.
Poster: Relationship Between Distress and Degree of Loneliness, Social Interaction, and Symptom Perception in Patients with Advanced Cancer in Palliative Care. [Relación entre el sufrimiento y el grado de soledad, la interacción social y la percepción de los síntomas en pacientes con cáncer avanzado en cuidados paliativos]
IAHPC membership drive
Lina Rozo, IAHPC’s finance officer, and Ana Restrepo, a longtime IAHPC volunteer, staffed IAHPC’s booth at the congress. Thirty-six individuals took advantage of the 20% membership discount offered during the congress: five of them are new Lifetime members! Faride Chejne Gomez, (Mexico), Jorge Guajardo (Mexico), Ana Concepcion Morales Gramajo (Guatemala), Bilena Margarita Molina (Colombia), and Lorena Barrera Lopez (Mexico).
Raffle winner
As in previous congresses, we raffled off a set of Air Pods for those who renewed or joined IAHPC during the congress. The lucky winner was doctor Carmen Priscila Valdez from Peru.
Global Access to Palliative Care (GAP) project
The congress also provided a great opportunity for all the Global Access to Palliative Care (GAP) partners to meet and discuss progress, review the workstreams, and assess challenges and opportunities ahead to expand the project’s impact.
Representatives of the U of Edinburgh and partner institutions in the GAP study project in Cartagena. Photo by the ALCP. Used with permission.
The IAHPC and University of Edinburgh are co-leading the revision and update of the Lancet’s Essential Package for Palliative Care and the WHO Essential Package for children, and designing the Expanded Packages for both adults and children.
The GAP project is anchored at the University of Edinburgh, under the lead of Dr. Liz Grant and supported by a grant from the Medical Research Council of the United Kingdom. Partners include: the University of Miami; Fundacion Tómatelo a Pecho and Fundación Mexicana Para la Salud A.C. (FUNSALUD) (Mexico); PALIAMED (El Salvador); the ALCP; PROESA-ICESI (Colombia); and the IAHPC.
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