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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.
Are older Australians receiving the medical care that they want, and how well does their care align with their personal values and preferences? To help answer this question, Advance Care Planning Australia (ACPA) is leading a pioneering research project, the National Advance Care Directive Prevalence Study 2018, the first of its kind in Australia.
An essential first step in our ELDAC journey was to identify the needs and challenges currently experienced by aged care providers when delivering palliative care and advance care planning. From QUT, we distributed an online survey to aged care services via the mailing lists of the peak bodies – LASA, ACSA and CHA.
It’s long been recognised that access to high quality palliative care in Australia is variable. Many Australians face difficulties in receiving palliative care due to factors such as system fragmentation, gaps in service provision, geographic scarcity of services or health professionals, access barriers for vulnerable populations and those living in residential aged care facilities, system navigation issues, low confidence of health workers in providing care to those living with a life limiting condition and limited community understanding of what palliative care is.