CarerHelp, a new resource building on Flinders University’s CareSearch project, is supporting unpaid carers following its launch at Parliament House on 17 October in National Carers Week.

Developed as part of the Australian Family Carer Toolkit Project, the resource helps prepare unpaid carers care for a partner, parent, child or friend at the end of life.

The Australian Family Carer Toolkit Project is a collaboration of the Centre for Palliative Care of St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne and The University of Melbourne; CareSearch at Flinders University, Carers Australia and The University of Technology Sydney.

Empowering carers with information and preparation reduces stress, helps them feel more competent and enables them to cope better during bereavement.

“CarerHelp is designed to focus on these areas, in order to improve family carer wellbeing,” says Project Lead Professor Peter Hudson, Director of the Centre for Palliative Care in Victoria.

He says assistance from the project’s Reference Group including Flinders University had been instrumental in developing the resource.

“Carers, health professionals, and experts have collaborated to develop the content of this innovative resource, which has been brought to life by the CareSearch Project team from Flinders University.”

Jessica Freeman, a carer, says it was crucial for her to provide end-of-life care for her mother who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

“It was important for me, as I wanted to adhere to my Mum’s wishes to be cared for and die in her own home. I wanted her to be as comfortable as possible. It was also important as a way for my family and me to spend these precious moments together.

Looking back, she says she wishes she knew “more about the dying process and what to expect so that I was perhaps better prepared mentally, to have the correct equipment in place from the outset.”

According to Professor Hudson, “CarerHelp fills a gap for carers. It supports them by providing high quality and practical information on symptoms; support services; common financial and legal issues; managing communication and wellbeing; and other resources, which specifically address the end of life context.

Funded by the Australian Government Department of Health, the resource is available at: www.carerhelp.com.au.

Flinders University’s palliative care CareSearch network is part of the Caring Futures Institute, within the College of Nursing and Health Sciences.