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
- Department of Health and Aged Care – palliative care education and training opportunities for anyone who works in primary care and aged care
- 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 Oceanic Palliative Care Conference in 2023 brought together over 1400 delegates ‘with the end in mind’ – it was our biggest conference ever.
At the heart of this success was a powerful conference program that featured over 215 speakers sharing new ideas, latest research, tools, resources, models of care and so much more!
To continue this momentum, we need your expertise to create another impactful program for the 2025 Oceanic Palliative Care Conference. You are invited to join our 25OPCC Program Committee and help shape a dynamic three days in Brisbane ➡️ https://ow.ly/YhLy50Stkj0 EOIs close 15 July!
#25OPCC
What happens when we die? It’s life’s big mystery, these palliative care nurses open up to ABC News about what they have seen and experienced ➡️ https://ow.ly/ecGJ50SswAc
Advice, tools, support with ‘matters of life and death’ ➡️ https://ow.ly/olR650SswAe
📸 ABC News – Danielle Bonica: Nurses Marita Rees, Anne Myers, and Anne-Marie Jackson say people needn’t fear the end of their lives.
Unmasking Grief is a video series that sensitively illuminates the grief stories of four bereaved mothers.
Hoping to make a difference for other families dealing with grief, Rachel, Yvonne, Bec and Angela bravely confront topics with dignity, grace, vulnerability, and humour.
Project lead, Dr Leigh Donovan says, “There is great fear and reluctance around confronting grief which leaves many so isolated in bereavement.”
“However, when we begin to unmask this experience, as a community we become more confident in seeing grief as a natural, human experience and one that requires solidarity rather than disconnection.”
More ➡️ http://ow.ly/cvcL50OBtta
This blog from the CareSearch Project delves into the integration of telemedicine and palliative care.
“Our findings demonstrate high levels of satisfaction,” writes Sim Xiang Rong from Monash Health.
“This is likely because telemedicine offers the convenience of being at home while still receiving care.”
More ➡️ https://ow.ly/ozlX50SrsOm
A positive outcome to a story we shared with you earlier this week ➡️ https://ow.ly/bY6v50SrsEH
Tools and support for families on a paediatric palliative care journey ➡️ https://ow.ly/yqro50SrsHf
📸 Jessica Lamb from ABC Gold Coast: Gold Coast parents Justin and Ashlee Wallace with their six-year-old daughter Audrey who lives with treatment-resistant epilepsy.
Palliative Care Australia’s National Champions are a group of eminent Australians who represent a range of backgrounds, skills, and experiences in their professional and private lives.
National Champions work with our Board of Directors and CEO to build strategic alliances that serve the business objectives, values, and mission of PCA.
Let’s meet one of our Champions, Yvonne Coburn – a former lawyer, newspaper columnist and human resources professional, these days, Yvonne is an executive leadership coach working with a wide range of senior executives and guiding business and commerce students at the University of Sydney Business School.
Yvonne’s awareness of palliative care started with her mother’s diagnosis of ovarian cancer ➡️ https://ow.ly/r9wz50Srpbt
Thanks for your support Yvonne.
