palliAGED updates

palliAGED team member Rosie Bonnin presented at the 5th International Ageing in a Foreign Land Conference, 19-20 June 2019 and the SA Australian Association of Gerontology Conference, 21 June 2019. Both conferences were held in Adelaide at the Flinders University Tonsley Campus. palliAGED hosted a booth at the conferences and connected with local, national and international participants.

We have developed new content on the Australian context of care. The new pages also cover the facility issues previously found in the CareSearch Residential Aged Care section which is being transferred to palliAGED as part of our efforts to consolidate evidence based resources for the aged care sector into a single site. You can read more about the consolidation project and access the new Australian context pages to learn more.

The Engagement project continues to reach out to the aged, allied health and patient, carer and family sectors, and this months publications include:

• Article published in the newsletter (June 2019), Australian Counselling Association (ACA): How palliAGED can help counsellors with end of life for older Australians
• Article published in InMotion magazine (June 2019, pg 11), Australian Physiotherapy Association: Create a safe space for open discussions
• Article published in Connections magazine (June 2019), Occupational Therapy Australia: Finding evidence and clinical guidance you can trust and why it matters (205kb pdf)

palliAGED, as part of the CareSearch Project, is now on Facebook. Like our page @CareSearchProject to learn of the latest updates and links to trustworthy information and the best available evidence on palliative care in aged care.

This week, palliAGED is celebrating our second anniversary of supporting the aged care sector with practical evidence-based guidance in palliative care. You can read more about our work in the latest In Focus - palliAGED: Quality guidance for quality palliative care in aged care.

palliAGED is launching the newly developed evidence-based Practice Tip Sheets in March 2019 to support Careworkers and Nurses to deliver quality care for older Australians. The Practice Tip Sheets will be available to download for free and include easy-to-read discussion of common care issues, pointers on what to do and tools to use as well as questions to prompt reflection and review. The Practice Tip Sheets will complement the range of practice topics already available in the Practice Centre focussing on putting evidence into everyday practice.  You can read more about the project and read about the importance of supporting aged care workers as they care for older people in Australia.

palliAGED Symptoms and Medicines have a fresh new look and revised content. The common symptoms in the last days of life are known. Nurse practitioners (NPs) and general practitioners (GPs) with the support of a pharmacist are well placed to lead care of older Australians into the terminal phase. The palliAGED Symptoms and Medicines pages are an easily-accessible and comprehensive repository of information that can guide evidence-based practice in the care of older people in the last days of their life.

A guest blog post by Mark Butler, Chaplaincy and Palliative Care Manager, Eldercare

A guest blog post by Kirsty Carr, National Policy and Strategy Advisor, Dementia Australia

A new video has been added to palliAGED featuring Dr Holly Deer discussing her experiences as a GP working in regional South Australia, and how she has used palliAGEDgp smartphone App to support her in providing palliative care. As noted by Professor Jennifer Tieman in an accompanying blog on palliAGED, ‘Recognising palliative care needs and supporting care delivery over time requires skills and knowledge at the right time'. Trustworthy, evidence-based tools like the palliAGEDgp App can provide GPs with 24/7 access to information to support them in this critical role.