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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.
Technological advances are enabling the integration of mobile healthcare Apps into the self-management plans for people living with various chronic and complex conditions. Priyanka Bhattarai discusses her research into investigating if self-management Apps are a feasible and acceptable modality to assist older people in the community to better manage their arthritic pain. The potential extension of this to palliative care is also discussed.
Advances in medicine mean health care professionals can prolong life, yet some treatments have a low chance of providing tangible benefits to some patients, can result in a ‘bad death’, and represent a multi-million dollar cost to the public. Professor Adrian Barnett from the Queensland University of Technology discusses the study he is involved in which looks to increase awareness among hospital clinicians of the extent of non-beneficial treatment at the end-of-life and stimulate action to reduce it.
The internet has provided a mechanism to make palliative care information freely accessible. However, the complexity of palliative care and situational stresses can influence a person’s ability to easily find, navigate and understand online information. It is for this reason that many developers of websites providing palliative care information conduct a usability evaluation during the development process. Amanda Adams discusses her research into evaluation of usability and accessibility during the development stage of an online resource or toolkit and whether this improves access and value.
Translating research into practice and policy is an international priority. However, despite our best efforts, research findings often fail to be translated into practice. Translating knowledge into clinical care can also take a very long time, which when it comes to palliative care may be too late. So what can help us translate knowledge into practice more quickly? Barbara Daveson from PCOC (Palliative Care Outcomes Collaboration) discusses knowledge translation and how it can help to improve outcomes in palliative care.
Due to advances in medicine, people with physical disabilities are living longer. While end-of-life care should be readily accessible for this group, the care needs of people with significant physical disabilities arguably adds an additional layer of complexity to such care. Dr Ruth Walker from Flinders University discusses end-of-life care needs for adults with long-standing physical disability and the new research she is involved in to explore the specific needs of people with physical disabilities who are at the end-of-life, as well as the needs of their families and the support staff who help care for them.