Flinders University’s position at the forefront of improved palliative care in Australia has been underlined with the announcement of significant funding support for two projects.
The CareSearch Project has secured $3.8m of further funding from the SA Department of Health to help provide expanded access to evidence-based palliative resources, research and education.
Established in 2008, CareSearch – managed by the Flinders Research Centre for Palliative Care, Death and Dying, and based at the College of Nursing and Health Sciences – is the only project in Australia that continuously identifies, evaluates, synthesises, and disseminates trustworthy information and best available evidence on palliative care.
“Given the expected increased demand for palliative care, the need for evidence-based and practical resources and information is more pronounced than ever,” states Professor Jennifer Tieman, Director of CareSearch.
“We are encouraged by the continuous support from the Department to drive evidence-based care and are fortunate to have a team and partners who are committed to evidence-based approaches.”
CareSearch is focusing on: Providing current and readily accessible evidence to guide palliative care practice in Australia; Revitalising evidence use in palliative care through a new approach to digital translation; Encouraging community understanding of palliative care and death as part of life; and Recognising and working with different care providers and across the diversity of our population.
The CareSearch and palliAGED websites receive more than a million web visitors per year.
CareSearch also runs Dying2Learn, a free online course that empowers people to talk about death, dying and palliative care. Dying2Learn 2020 has recently received funding from the Department of Health to run in October this year.
Exciting new projects for the University’s palliative care teams this year include developing an occupational therapy tool for international use, and undertaking a bereavement study focused on supporting the families of those who die in residential aged care.
Flinders University has also been awarded a grant to develop online and printed resources for family and caregivers that encourage positive action around the end-of-life journey and support the grief, loss and bereavement needs of the family aged care residents. This grant is one of 16 awarded so far in SA’s $16 million Palliative Care 2020 Grants Program, which includes several projects related to the residential aged care sector.