General practitioners are central in providing holistic care from cradle to grave. As part of our services, we are part of the care team coordinating end of life care for our patients. This month we’d like to share a resource to facilitate discussion on providing palliative care specifically for Aboriginal patients.
This presentation was developed for small group discussion, and you are invited to use it to discuss this important topic with your supervisor or peers to gain a better understanding of considerations when managing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients requiring palliation.
Palliative Care in the Indigenous Setting
Listen to this recording of a discussion of the points in the presentation: there are more questions than answers, as you are encouraged to discuss this important topic with your peers or supervisor, as it relates to your community.
There are 2 resources in particular that I found very useful while preparing this resource:
A Tasmanian resource on Palliative Care Management Guidelines and the PEPA flipbook on Cultural Considerations: Providing end of life care for Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Please feel free to add comments and suggestions from your own experience to assist others in improving palliative care to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
The most important thing to remember is that we are customising for a patient, their family and their community within the context of the environs and resources available … and in consideration of the milieu of cultural, spiritual and family experiences, including any projections of past experiences with significant others.
In medicine we ache for a flowchart guideline that suits everyone … rarely is there one.
Absolutely John – I can’t agree more. And the only way we’ll know how to do that is to start asking questions: what is expected, what is the norm, what is available, what is acceptable etc.