National Palliative Care Week 2024 - the nation’s largest annual awareness raising initiative
National Palliative Care Week 2024 - the nation’s largest annual awareness raising initiative
Wednesday, April 10, 2024
Australians have a great attitude to life; we want to bring that same openness and curiosity to how we approach end of life and National Palliative Care Week gives us a chance to explore the thinking and conversations that go with it.
Last year our National Palliative Care Week campaign reached over 2.13 million Australians. This year, Palliative Care Australia and our members around the country will take that up a notch, highlighting the real and growing need to educate and empower Australians about quality of life towards the end of life.
In 2024, National Palliative Care Week runs Sunday, 19 May to Saturday, 25 May with a host of local events supported by a vibrant social media campaign - allowing Australians to connect with the ‘people at the heart of quality palliative care’ – the doctors, nurses, social workers, volunteers, and many others.
The week coincides with significant and ongoing reforms across the health, aged care, and disability sectors and is a great opportunity for us to highlight the contribution palliative care is making and what more needs to be done.
Below you will find a host of information to support your own understanding of palliative care and a range of ideas and recourses that will enable you to get involved in National Palliative Care Week 2024.
Watch this page for more news and updates as we get closer to 19 May, 2024.
Events Calendar
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Orange heart lapel pins - now available to order!
Advice for you
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Other advice, tools and support
- Understanding self-care
- Planning for self-care
- Self-Care Matters campaign resources – a Palliative Care Australia resource, which aims to support you – whatever your role in palliative care – to prevent burnout and build resilience
- Self-care for volunteers working in paediatric palliative care
- Self-care for health professionals working in paediatric palliative care
- Questions for carers to ask the team caring for your loved one
- The Essence of Spiritual Care: A learning module for health care workers
- End of Life Directions for Aged Care (ELDAC) Toolkits – designed to help you in providing palliative care and advance care planning to older Australians
- National Palliative Care Standards for Specialist Palliative Care Services
- National Palliative Care Standards for All Health Professionals and Aged Care Services
- CareSearch Health Professionals Centre – providing trustworthy and practical resources that are relevant to your practice
- End-of-Life Essentials: free education modules and resources
- Palliative Care Online Short Courses, Flinders University
- LGBTIQ+ Health Australia – LGBTIQ+ Inclusive Palliative Care eLearning
- End of Life Law for Clinicians – online training modules
- Palliative Care Curriculum for Undergraduates (PCC4U) – Free education modules and resources for the University and VET Sectors
- Palliative Care Education Directory – PaCE web app
- Program of Experience in the Palliative Approach (PEPA) – free health placements in palliative care services and palliative approach workshops
- Paediatric End-of-Life Care Communication Course
- Education for Teachers in Schools about Paediatric Palliative Care
- Oceanic Palliative Care Conference Education Hub
- ‘Live the live you please’ documentary
- Free PCA Resource Library
- Voluntary Assisted Dying in Australia – Guiding Principles for those providing care to people living with a life-limiting illness
- Overview of Voluntary Assisted Dying in Australia by End of Life Directions in Aged Care (ELDAC).
- Navigating the topic of Voluntary Assisted Dying in Advance Care Planning Conversations: Guiding principles for health professionals
- PCA Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples palliative care resources
- Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet: Palliative Care and End-of-Life Care
- caring@home for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Families
- Gwandalan palliative care education and training
- End of Life Law for Clinicians online module – Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and end of life law
- ‘Working out what’s right for your child’ – Discussion Starter Cards and Yarning Companion resources for paediatric palliative care
- Free PCA Resource Library
- Palliative care for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender People and People with Intersex Characteristics (LGBTI) Position Statement
- Palliative Care Victoria: palliative care for members of the Australian LGBTQIA+ multicultural and multifaith community
- LGBTIQ+ Health Australia – LGBTIQ+ Inclusive Palliative Care eLearning
- End of Life Law for Clinicians online module – Inclusive end of life decision-making with diverse populations
- Palliative care NSW – Homelessness and Palliative Care Report
- Department of Health and Aged Care – Exploratory Analysis of Barriers to Palliative Care – Issues Report on People Experiencing Homelessness
- CareSearch: palliative care issues for people experiencing homelessness
- Palliative Care Australia – Providing palliative care for people who are homeless; attempting to break down barriers
- Homeless Palliative Care Toolkit
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Quick links to more info
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Join the conversation
The 2024 Federal Budget represents the continuation of some critical programs within the palliative care sector, however the opportunity for bolder, deeper change has been kicked further down the road.
Read PCA’s full budget response and share with your network ➡️ https://ow.ly/mEx050RGGqM
“The more we think about and talk about dying and death, the less scary it becomes,” says Peter Jenkin, Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner, Canberra Health Services.
Ahead of National Palliative Care Week, Peter and Kat Hooper, Woromi woman, Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner, Metro South Health, Queensland spoke to Nine.com.au about the “pleasure and the privilege” of their work.
Read the article ➡️ https://ow.ly/Trmo50RCYWr
Get involved in National Palliative Care Week ➡️ https://ow.ly/Ubt150RCYWq
#MattersOfLifeAndDeath 🧡
Catch up on Season 3 episodes of Thursdays@3!
Season 3 has come to an end, we hope you loved listening to these inspiring conversations with people living and working at the end of life.
Thank you to everyone who took part and shared their story with us. We laughed, we cried, we learnt, we connected.
Catch up on the episodes you missed ➡️ https://ow.ly/1eAl50RB4pR
Got an idea for our next season? Email ➡️ communications@palliativecare.org.au
What are people saying about the new symbol of the palliative care sector?
“The heart is what keeps you alive. It’s about living. I think it’s lovely.” – Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner.
Locations where orange heart lapel pins can be purchased ➡️ https://ow.ly/4VFX50RB4sE
#MattersOfLifeAndDeath 🧡
“People are death denying, we don’t want to talk about it because we are worried it will tempt fate, and I think there is a sense of – it’s going to happen to someone else, not me,” says Peter Jenkin, Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner.
Peter is one for six ‘people at the heart of quality palliative care’ we feature in 2024 as part of our National Palliative Care Week video series. Wait till you hear what they have to say and share!
National Palliative Care Week is May 19 to 25, are you ready? More info and tools to get involved, including details on where you can buy your orange heart pin ➡️ https://ow.ly/peZU50Rzbjb
#MattersOfLifeAndDeath 🧡
