CareSearch Blog: Palliative Perspectives

ELDAC (End of Life Directions for Aged Care) is fast approaching its first-year project milestone. A lot has happened in the last twelve months. Dr Georgia Rowley, Research Associate at ELDAC discusses what the project has achieved and the impact for aged and palliative care.

The Adelaide Primary Health Network has been meeting with stakeholders in the provision of palliative care since the commencement of their organisation in July 2015. They have always seen palliative care as a priority and have been working closely with providers through our Older People and Palliative Care Health Priority Groups. In February 2018, the Adelaide PHN was selected as a successful recipient of funds from the Commonwealth Government through the Greater Choice for At Home Palliative Care measure. Deb Lee discusses how Adelaide PHN will use these funds through the 'Enabling Choice for South Australians' project. 

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.
 

Health care professionals agree that the quality of care provided in the emergency department for dying patients and their families is often not as good as it needs to be. Dr Tracy Giles of Flinders University explains how her research into the experiences of family members will help to identify what is working well already and areas of care that need improvement, and how you can become involved.