RESOURCES

Guidelines for the psychosocial and bereavement support of family caregivers of palliative care patients.

Last month we announced these guidelines but the email version had an incorrect link. We are including this announcement this month again, and offer our apologies to Dr. Peter Hudson - an IAHPC board member - for this mistake.

The World Health Organization and palliative care standards in numerous countries recognize that support for family caregivers, including bereavement follow up, is a core function of palliative care.

Approximately 30-40% of caregivers will experience psychological distress and there are few evidence based strategies to assist health professionals in supporting caregivers. Hence, it is pleasing that guidelines for the psychosocial and bereavement support of family caregivers of palliative care patients have now been produced. These guidelines were systematically developed by the Centre for Palliative Care (c/o St Vincent's Hospital and The University of Melbourne , Australia) and endorsed by key institutions nationally and internationally.

For more information please see: Hudson P. et.al. ‘Guidelines for the psychosocial and bereavement support of family caregivers of palliative care patients’.

The article is available at http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/pdfplus/10.1089/jpm.2011.0466

Publications from the program “Dying At Home”.

Since 1980, a community initiative runs a program called “Dying at home” to provide education and support to the carer and family of a dying loved one so that the person can remain at home and may die there. The program has spread widely in Australia and since 2004 also in Tzaneen, South Africa.

The program supports the concept that dying is not just a medical event, but a social event. Their vision is a world in which families and communities are empowered to reclaim their proper role in caring for their terminally ill.

They offer several patient booklets that share their experiences in the why and how of dying at home.

They can be downloaded at http://www.dyingathome.org/download-booklets

Scholarships from the IAHPC Traveling Scholarship Program

We are pleased to announce 10 (ten) scholarships grants to help support the travel of palliative care workers in developing countries to the 19th International Congress on Palliative Care presented by McGill University that will take place in Montreal, Canada, during October 9-12, 2012.

Applicants must be living in a developing country, be active members of IAHPC, and actively working in palliative care. Preference will be given to individuals who have not received an IAHPC grant in the past three years with accepted poster or oral presentations in the Congress.

Applications from physicians, nurses, psychologists, social workers and other disciplines are welcome.

If you wish to apply and are not an IAHPC member, you may join by clicking at www.hospicecare.com/join.htm

Applications are available through the IAHPC website in http://www.hospicecare.com/Travellscholars/

Please send proof of acceptance of the poster or oral presentation, along with a copy of your current CV.

Selected individuals are also eligible to receive a discounted registration fee from the Congress.

Deadline to apply is July 15, 2012. Results will be announced by end July.

Additional information about the Congress can be found in http://www.palliativecare.ca/

If you need information on how to apply or how to become a member, please contact Ana Restrepo at [email protected]