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The views and opinions expressed in our blog series are those of the authors and are not necessarily supported by CareSearch, Flinders University and/or the Australian Government Department of Health.
Being aware and having access to evidence-based palliative care information is important for those providing or receiving palliative care. CareSearch is aware that the way people access information varies and that making information available is often of itself not enough. To better understand the palliative care information needs of people and organisations CareSearch undertook an Engagement Project. Katrina Erny-Albrecht from CareSearch discusses the aims and activities involved in the project.
Palliative care for people living with dementia should be available when and where it is needed. The Dementia Australia Policy Team discusses their discussion paper on what Australia needs to do to improve palliative care services for people living with dementia.
Access to evidence and trustworthy resources is an important part of providing best practice palliative care for older Australians. Dr Katrina Erny-Albrecht from CareSearch, discusses how the CareSearch/palliAGED information and resources for the aged care sector have now been consolidated into a single site to improve the ease of finding this information, and highlights where to go for information relevant to your needs.
Advance care planning (ACP) can improve end of life care in line with a person's wishes. But is it a Western concept that can be applied to other countries? Yumi Naito a registered nurse and masters student at Flinders University discusses how ACP is enabling decision making at the end of life in Japan.
Symptom management is a large component of maintaining a person’s comfort at the end of life, along with supporting spiritual, emotional and cultural wellbeing of the person and their loved ones. Karen Gregory from Resthaven Inc. discusses how routine comfort measures often thought about at this time are around pain relief, comfortable positioning, skin care, urinary and bowel care, mouth and eye care. She refers to the palliAGED Practice Tip Sheets and gives tips on simple techniques to maintain comfort of the eyes and mouth which can make a high impact on the quality of life during the last days of life.