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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.
The WA Cancer and Palliative Care Network (WACPCN), WA Department of Health is committed to delivering quality and culturally respectful end-of-life and palliative care in Western Australia. This year the WACPCN released their WA End-of-Life and Palliative Care Strategy 2018-2028. Frances Arthur from the WA Department of Health discusses the importance and priorities of the strategy including insights from the community during consultation process, as well as the broad consultation undertaken during development to identify gaps, innovations and improvements.
Many health professionals would like to help patients with advance care planning. However, most of them need more training and support to improve their skills and confidence. Linda Nolte of Advance Care Planning Australia (ACPA) writes how their free online courses can help upskill and build the confidence of health professionals in this important area.
Providing culturally appropriate and person-centred palliative care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients can be complex. Fiona Walls from the Lowitja Institute discusses how the findings and resources developed from Managing Two Worlds Together study can help.
At CareSearch we acknowledge and respect the Kaurna people, the traditional custodians whose ancestral lands on which CareSearch located.
Naa Marni? This greeting in Kaurna language translates to ‘Are you all good?’
I recall once walking through a university corridor on my way to give a tutorial, and overhearing some students complaining that they couldn't understand why they had to spend so much time in their course on Aboriginal Health. I was quite shocked by this, because to me the reason was obvious – Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people die at least 10 years earlier than non-indigenous Australians. How had they missed this vital point?
One of the key goals of the Close the Gap campaign for Indigenous health equality is to reduce the gap in life expectancy and healthcare access between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and the non-indigenous Australian population.