The Palliative Care Research Collaboration (PCRC) is a five-year statewide project funded by The Hospital Research Foundation Group – Palliative Care.
The program aims to improve access to and delivery of palliative care for under-served populations in South Australia, to receive the care they want and need when dealing with a life-limiting illness.
We engage with people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD), rural and low socio-economic communities, as well as those providing care to those communities.
Last year the research team focused on the ‘Living well as long as we can’ project which aims to support communities to improve awareness and understanding about the provision of care at the end of life, enabling people to make informed end-of-life choices.
Talking about a serious illness, dying, death and grief can be hard. So when it comes to end-of-life decisions, knowing what supports are available can make all the difference.
Some key PCRC updates include:
- Supporting CALD communities to survey and measure ‘death literacy’ (eg. the language, knowledge, and practical skills regarding palliative care) and undertake activities to raise awareness about palliative care and end-of-life conversations. With support from Multicultural Communities Council of South Australia (MCCSA) and Palliative Care SA(PCSA), community leaders from Filipino, German, Italian and Vietnamese communities have been developing language-based podcasts, flyers, radio broadcasts and social media posts tailored to meet community needs.
- Train-the-Trainer workshops about palliative care have been delivered in Mount Gambier and scheduled for Port Lincoln and Whyalla, led by PCSA CEO Shyla Mills.
Surveys have been distributed within the Hutt Street Community Centre, and workshops are scheduled with community leaders within the inner city as well as the City of Playford.
Filipino, German, Italian and
Vietnamese community leaders
at a Train-the-Trainer workshop.
Seeking participants
A project called My Story, Our Journey will follow people living with a life-limiting illness and their families. Through ongoing conversations, this study will capture behaviours, experiences and key moments that shape how and why individuals make decisions about their care.
This study is now open for recruitment. If you are interested in participating, please visit the project’s website at: www.health.adelaide.edu.au/public-health-and-palliativecare/get-involved
Or for more information, contact A/Prof Jaklin Eliott on 08 8313 3855 or [email protected]
Other achievements
Researchers Professor Caroline Laurence and Associate Professor Ann Dadich led a successful workshop at the 2023 Oceanic Palliative Care Conference in Sydney which facilitated discussions around what palliative care should look like for under-served populations.
Finally, PCRC’s Annual Stakeholder Engagement Event held in October last year at The University of Adelaide was a great success.
It brought together key stakeholders including consumers, policy makers, researchers, health care professionals, advocacy
groups and collaborating organisations to strengthen networks and share ideas for improving palliative care
in South Australia.
For more information on PCRC, visit www.health.adelaide.edu.au/public-health-and-palliative-care/
