Professor Liz Reymond, Dr Karen Cooper, Miss Kathyrn Hooper
1Queensland Voluntary Assisted Dying Support and Pharmacy Service, Brisbane, Australia, 2Brisbane South Palliative Care Collaborative (BSPCC), Brisbane, Australia, 3Consultant Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner, Brisbane, Australia
Introduction:
Many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people express a wish to be cared for, and to pass, at home or on Country surrounded by family, if possible. There are many barriers to achieving this aim; one being the difficulty for health professionals to provide timely and effective symptom control 24/7 especially in rural and remote areas.
Aim:
The aim of the presentation is to introduce a suite of resources that health professionals can use to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families to help manage their loved one’s palliative care symptoms at home or on Country thereby facilitating effective, timely and safe 24/7 symptom management.
Results:
The resources were developed with nationwide consultation and are being disseminated to clinical services in every state/territory. Packaged as a Palliative Care Clinic Box, the suite of resources is applicable Australia-wide for:
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families
- Tip sheets about nine common end-of-life symptoms
- A Medicines book to record administration with a symptom rating scale
- Step-by-step guides and short training videos about how to give subcutaneous medicine and recognise symptoms
- Health professionals’ education
- Anaging palliative care symptoms: A guide for health professionals
- Clinical services
- An example policy and procedures document
- Guidelines for the handling of palliative care medicines in community services
In an online survey, 90% (n = 79) of health professionals who received a Clinic Box agreed that the resources for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families will contribute to improved quality of palliative care provided by clinical services.
Conclusion:
The presentation will demonstrate how health professionals can use the resources to support best-practice end-of-life care at home or on Country and can potentially improve end-of-life choices for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families.
Funding:
The project was funded by the Australian Government.
Biography:
Prof. Liz Reymond MBBS(Hons), PhD, FRACGP, FAChPM
Liz is the director of the Queensland Voluntary Assisted Dying Support and Pharmacy Service and Director of the national palliative care project caring@home project. Her research interests include palliative care symptom management, service delivery and development, and advance care planning. Liz has directed multiple national palliative care projects.