CPCRE - Palliative Care for Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Peoples

^{Artwork: ‘End of Life Journey’ by Uncle Michael Connolly, Munda-gutta Kulliwari.}

Palliative Care and End of Life Resource for workforce supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.
(Australian Indigenous Health InfoNet). CareSearch has a comprehensive Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Care section.

Australia's palliative care community acknowledges the sensitive nature of end of life care (Sorry Business, Sad or Bad News) and recognises the importance of cultural sensitivity when providing services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.

• NACCHO Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Health Workforce: Building a workforce and embedding Cultural Safety

Gwandalan National Palliative Care Project. This ground-breaking project, through its eLearning platform has these aims for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples:

• Improve quality of palliative care
• Promote access to and uptake of palliative care services through improved Community awareness
• Support more choices during palliative care by increasing uptake of Advance Care Planning
• Support delivery of coordinated, culturally relevant and safe palliative care across Community and acute care settings

CPCRE works closely with the Program of Experience in the Palliative Approach (PEPA), through PEPA's National Indigenous Manager Ms Nicole Hewlett, and the Queensland PEPA Indigenous Project Officer, (position currently vacant) to:

• increase health professionals' understanding of the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients and families
• increase knowledge about palliative care amongst Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workers, Liaison Officers and other health professionals

PEPA provides palliative care education for interested health professionals including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workers and Liaison Officers. To enhance the PEPA learning experience, participants are then encouraged to undertake a mentored placement with a specialist palliative care facility. Further information about workshops or a PEPA placement may be obtained by contacting Eliza or other PEPA/CPCRE staff on:

T: 07 3646 5251
E: pepaqld@health.qld.gov.au

CPCRE and PEPA have worked closely with Cancer Council Queensland and the Queensland Aboriginal and Islander Health Council (QAIHC) to deliver palliative care information to local Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander communities, to Health Workers, and to facilitate palliative care providers gaining greater knowledge of relevant Indigenous beliefs and practices.

The Aboriginal flag was designed by Mr Harold Thomas. Learn about the flag's meaning.  

The Torres Strait Islander flag was designed by Mr Bernard Namok from Thursday Island.

Resources

• Gwandalan Palliative Care Project
  CareSearch Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Palliative Care
• CPCRE/PEPA Indigenous Resources
  Shahid S, Ekberg S, Holloway M, et al. Experiential learning to increase palliative care competence among the Indigenous workforce: an Australian experience. BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care 2019;9:158-163.
• Sad News, Sorry Business: Guidelines for caring for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people through death and dying
• Janine Mohamed: Cultural Safety Matters - The Conversation We Need to Keep Having
• Final Report: Chronic illness care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Menzies School of Health Research. (Apr 2015)
• Lowitja Institute for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Research
• NAIDOC
• Pop Arthur comic book