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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.
Given the pressures on the aged care system and the reform agenda currently in play, there is a continuing need to ensure that current evidence and resources are available to guide care provision for older Australians as they approach the end of their life. Professor Jennifer Tieman from CareSearch highlights that the palliAGED website provides the latest evidence and resources for palliative care in aged care and discusses how it does guidance differently.
Many palliative care services are involved in quality improvement (QI) activities to make healthcare safer, effective, patient centered, timely, efficient and equitable. Professor Jennifer Tieman and Dr Katrina Erny-Albrecht from CareSearch discusses different QI approaches and the importance of evaluating these approaches to improve quality care.
National Advance Care Planning Week is an annual initiative by Advance Care Planning Australia that encourages all Australians, regardless of their age or health status, to make their future health care preferences known. Jennifer Tieman Director of CareSearch discusses the importance of advance care planning and the need to start more conversations about death and dying.
Across residential and home-based aged care at least 70% of direct care (“hands on” care) is provided by careworkers. Many of the people they care for could benefit from palliative care. To support current and future careworkers to understand and build capacity in palliative care, palliAGED managed by CareSearch, have launched an entry-point collection of evidence-based learning resources: palliAGED Practice Tip Sheets for Careworkers in aged care. Dr Katrina Erny-Albrecht, Professor Jennifer Tieman and Susan Gravier from CareSearch discuss this new freely-available palliAGED resource and how it is responding to the need for sector support while aged care issues are part of the conversation.
Palliative care is increasingly mentioned in mainstream and professional media releases and reports, particularly those related to aged care and cancer, but it is often misrepresented or mentioned only in passing. Dr Katrina Erny-Albrecht from CareSearch explains what palliative care is and why it matters from a researcher perspective.