These articles are part of the Palliative Perspectives blog addressing palliative care, and end-of-life care issues around ageing and aged care.
Sara-Jane Roberts and Michelle DiGiacomo share their research on how the Laughter Care. This program by The Humour Foundation can benefit families by fostering moments of togetherness and providing new ways to communicate with their loved ones.
With higher rates of frailty and death in aged care there is a movement towards making death as discreet as possible. In this blog, Rose Plater suggests the unintended consequences that this can bring and encourage compassionate design and open communication that ensure a good death is not accidental.
Dr Annie Dullow shares her emotional yet rewarding journey of caring for her mother with dementia. She discusses the important role of carers and emphasises the need for better palliative care integration in aged care services and highlights areas for improvement to support carers.
Findings from a recent study underscore the need for holistic support for family caregivers, and the importance of quality care, open communication, and robust support systems to positively influence their grief journey.
We can all play a role in conserving the dignity of people with advanced incurable disease or simply as people age. In this blog, Assoc Professor Deidre Morgan explains many practical ways that health professionals and family members can help to conserve the person’s dignity and support their autonomy as they near the end of their life.