Please note that the program for the conference is subject to change.
OPENING PLENARY SPEAKER
Dr. Harvey Max Chochinov
THURS. OCTOBER 12, 2023
3:45 – 5:00 PM
Dr. Harvey Max Chochinov is a Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Manitoba and a Senior Scientist at CancerCare Manitoba Research Institute. His research in palliative care has resulted in more than 300 career publications, broaching, broaching diverse topics such as depression, quality-of-life, suicide, vulnerability, spirituality, and existential distress.
He has also led a large program of research on dignity within the healthcare setting, which includes the creation and study of Dignity Therapy. He is the co-founder of the Canadian Virtual Hospice, co-editor of The Handbook of Psychiatry in Palliative Medicine (Oxford University Press). His latest book is entitled Dignity in Care: The Human Side of Medicine, published by Oxford University Press. He is an Officer in the Order of Canada, and an inductee into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame.
FRIDAY PLENARY SPEAKERS
Dr. Hsien Seow & Dr. Sammy Winemaker
FRI. OCTOBER 13, 2023
8:30 – 9:45 AM
Join the revolution: How we can achieve change together
In 2021, Drs. Winemaker and Seow launched season 1 of their podcast, The Waiting Room Revolution, where they shared 7 keys to activate patients and families to have a better illness journey. In their talk, they will present what has happened since. They will describe the public reactions over 7 podcast seasons so far and why targeting patient and families is essential to creating lasting change. Join them to hear their ideas on where to go now, ways you can help spread the 7 keys, and ultimately how working more upstream and patient-facing will lead to an unstoppable Revolution.
Dr. Hsien Seow, PhD, is the Canada Research Chair in Palliative Care and Health System Innovation and an Associate Professor in the Department of Oncology, McMaster University. His research focuses on evaluating health policy and education interventions and improving care for patients and families facing serious illness.
Dr. Samantha Winemaker, MD, CCFP(PC), FCFP, is an Associate Clinical Professor, Department of Family Medicine, in the Division of Palliative Care at McMaster University. She teaches palliative care to health care professionals and has won numerous awards for excellence in palliative medicine.
Dr. Winemaker and Dr. Seow are co-hosts of The Waiting Room Revolution podcast and co-authors of the book ‘Hope for the Best, Plan for the Rest: 7 keys for navigating a life-changing diagnosis.’
“Walking Alongside Caregivers”: Stories of Indigenous Support and Harm Reduction
Presented by:
- Justine McIsaac
- Joanna Vautour
Paramedics in Palliative Care
Presented by:
- Marianne Arab
- Chelsea Lanos
- Dr. David Henderson
- Dr. Aynharan Sinnarajah
- Cheryl Cameron
“I wish I were Dead” – how do we respond to suffering?
Presented by:
Dr. Harvey Max Chochinov
Dr. John F. Scott
Mary M. Scott
TDB
Moderated by:
Dr. Leonie Herx
7389: Bringing Death Back Home – Retooling Hospices to Help
Stephen Garrett
7543: Community Deathcare: Death Literacy and End-of-Life Doulas
Olga Nikolajev
The baby boomer generation offers us all an opportunity to do death differently and to bring death back to the family home and neighborhood. All we need to do is identify what a successful home death looks like and then how to educate our communities regarding great end of life planning. This workshop is designed to shed light on all the forgotten skills and abilities families had prior to the shift from home death to hospital death.
Participants will assess their own death literacy using the death literacy index (DLI) and explore ways to enhance death literacy knowledge within their community. They will learn to view end-of-life doulas as part of community deathcare from a holistic and relational perspective. Participants will use the death literacy framework which will assist the enhancement of their personal and community practical, experiential, factual and community-based end-of-life care skills.
7691: Care Connections – strengthening social connections to strengthen a caregivers support network
Bonnie Tompkins
The Care Connections Program workshop showcases the Atlas CareMap tool, which increases social connections and a caregiver’s support network. The tool allows caregivers to create a visual map of their support network, share their map with family, friends, and healthcare professionals, and broaden their network. Participants will create their map and learn about the other free resources designed to increase the awareness and use of the care map in the community and with healthcare professionals.
7670: Compassionate Communities Evaluation Guide – helping people plan, assess and showcase their impact
Eman Hassan, Nadine Valk, Bonnie Tompkins
This workshop will increase the capacity of Canadian Compassionate Community initiatives to develop and administer an evaluation that will measure the results and impact of their work. We will discuss the Canadian Compassionate Communities definition and stages of development and demonstrate how the project’s evaluation framework and guide can be used to build their unique evaluation plan.
7578: Insights from the Ontario Pilot Project of the Canadian Palliative Care Atlas: Mapping Palliative Care Service Availability and System Performance
Jeffrey Moat
8464: Improving timely transfers from acute care to palliative care units
Lesia Wynnychuk, Kalli Stilos, Lise Huynh, Jennifer Bottoms
The Canadian Palliative Care Atlas, the first of its kind in Canada, aims to map existing strengths, areas of excellence, and gaps across regions and provinces with respect to palliative care service availability. The pilot project for the Atlas was completed in 2023 and implemented a systematic and coordinated method of assessing the status of palliative care across three health regions of Ontario.
Dying in acute care has been a topic of significant national interest and honoring a patient’s wish for their preferred location of death is essential. For patients admitted to acute care whose choice is to transfer to a Palliative Care Unit (PCU) for end-of-life, it is imperative that this occurs in a safe and timely manner.
7678: “Creating that safe, sacred space for them to do what they need to do…” Improving Access to Equitable Palliative Care for Indigenous Peoples
Holly Prince
Accessibility and Advance Care Planning: Removing Barriers to Facilitate Important Conversations
Karine Diedrich and Merry Parkinson
This workshop will discuss considerations and challenges in developing culturally relevant palliative care services for Indigenous peoples. It will share newly developed tools, and resources envisioned and co-designed with Indigenous Elders, patients, families and health care providers across Canada to improve culturally safe care delivery.
Join Advance Care Planning (ACP) Canada as they discuss their new project, Making Advance Care Planning (ACP) More Accessible for Canadians with Disabilities. ACP Canada will discuss project highlights and lessons learned to date as they looked nationally and internationally for accessible ACP initiatives, tools and resources. Attend the workshop to contribute to the discussion and consider how you can make your ACP initiatives more accessible.
7522: Un espace de soutien pour déposer l’incommensurable : expérience de groupe de soutien pour parents endeuillés
Marion Onno, Mélanie Limoges, Antonietta Petti
7651: Impacts de la pandémie sur les maisons de soins palliatifs au Québec.
Diane Guay
Dans le cadre de cet atelier, nous vous partagerons une expérience de mise en place et d’animation d’un groupe de soutien pour parents endeuillés dont l’enfant est décédé des suites d’une trajectoire de maladie (avant l’âge de 18 ans).
Au travers de témoignages de parents ayant bénéficié de ce groupe de soutien et d’intervenantes l’ayant animé, nous vous partagerons une approche spécifique adaptée aux besoins de notre clientèle.
Cette communication vise à présenter la démarche et les résultats d’une étude réalisée auprès de 19 maisons de soins palliatifs lors de la deuxième vague de la pandémie au Québec. Un devis de recherche mixte transversale a permis de documenter les impacts humains, organisationnels et financiers ainsi que dégager les stratégies déployées pour y faire face.
7438: Legacy and Hope in Pediatric Palliative Care: A practical approach
Stephanie van Zanten
In this workshop the concept of redefining hopes in pediatric and perinatal palliative care will be explored through case studies. An emphasis will be placed on how supporting families’ hopes throughout the course of a child’s life-limiting illness can assist families with enhancing memory making and legacy building while regaining a sense of control and promoting healing. Aiding parents in reframing feelings of loss can enhance their experiences throughout this difficult journey.
7712: Using bereaved parent’s experiences to define standards of grief and bereavement care in pediatric palliative care.
Kate Sutherland
Our presentation will use bereaved parent’s experiences with their grief needs and supports to help create standards for grief and bereavement care in pediatric palliative care.
7710: Parents’ regrets after end-of-life and bereavement care
Gregorio Zúñiga
The experience of parents who receive end-of-life and bereavement care before, during and after the death of their child can create long-lasting regrets that continue to shape their grief journey. We identified factors that decrease regrets and improve the quality of end-of-life and bereavement care which translate to parents experiencing a more peaceful death for their child.
7463: Embedded Palliative Outpatient Care for Heart disease (EPOCH): Innovative Research in Palliative and End-of-Life care in an Ambulatory Heart Failure Population
Ruby Ying-Ju Chang, Caroline McGuinty
7491: Continuity of care near the end-of-life and its association with health care outcomes among people with kidney failure on dialysis: a retrospective population-based study.
Sarina Isenberg
We will assess a novel cardiac palliative care outpatient clinic in Ottawa through a process evaluation. Patient characteristics, clinic processes, and outcomes will be examined alongside thematic analysis of interviews. The audience will gain an understanding of the impact of this novel clinic, its strengths, and how the model can be improved. We hope to foster further discussions and collaboration to enhance the delivery of palliative care for patients with HF.
Mortality is exceedingly high, often predictable for people with kidney failure on dialysis (KF-D) and their end-of-life care may involve multiple specialties. Continuity of care (CoC), an indicator of care quality, is often measured as the proportion of care over time from a single provider. This retrospective cohort study of patients with KF-D who died between 2017-2019 in Ontario, will inform how to measure CoC at the end of life and understand the impact on end-of-life healthcare outcomes.
7492: Continuity of care near the end of life and its association with health care outcomes among people with advanced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a retrospective population-based study.
Sarina Isenberg
7576: Exploring changes in prescribing patterns for chronic severe pain in long-term care residents living with dementia near the end of life
Alixe Menard
Continuity of care (CoC) is often measured as the proportion of care over time from a single provider, however, respirologists, cardiologists, internists, and palliative care specialists may be involved near the end of life for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This retrospective cohort study of patients with advanced COPD who died between 2017-2019 in Ontario, will inform how to measure CoC at the end of life and understand the impact on end-of-life healthcare outcomes.
Chronic pain is one of the most underestimated healthcare problems today and a cause of reduced quality of life in older adults in Canada. The assessment of the presence of pain, as well as the level of pain, is complex in residents living with dementia. This presentation will present our study which aims to describe the rates of opioid and non-opioid analgesics prescribed to treat chronic severe pain, stratified by dementia status, in LTC residents who are in their last year of life.
7526
Interventions for Grieving and Bereaved Informal Caregivers: Implications from A Scoping Review of the Canadian Literature
Christopher Klinger
7539
Exploring best practice approaches to caregiver bereavement: Lessons learned for an outreach support program
Zelda Freitas, Patrick Durivage, Pam Orzeck, Rebecca Pimienta
This oral presentation will highlight further interventions for grieving and bereaved informal caregivers from a scoping review of the literature. Electronic databases were searched/articles screened. Three themes emerged: 1) Category of the intervention (e.g., music therapy, etc.), 2) Format of the intervention (delivery method, etc.), and 3) Target of the intervention (caregivers, etc.). There is a need for more evidence – collaborations are required to scale and evaluate these interventions.
Support for bereaved caregivers remains inconsistent in the Quebec public health care sector. We aim to bridge this gap with an outreach program providing tailored psychosocial support to bereaved caregivers. This workshop covers the challenges encountered thus far and lessons learned, and participants will be invited to share their professional experiences and recommendations. Feedback from the workshop can help shape future research to better reflect Canadian caregiver/stakeholder perspectives
7718
Walking With Complicated Grief
Eugene Dufour
7733
Grief, Bereavement and Mental Health: A Provincial (National) Crisis
Pablita Thomas
Complicated grief became more apparent during the COVID 19 pandemic. This workshop will present the current information on Complicated Grief. Participants will learn how to predict those who may have future issues with Complicated Grief. Concrete tool and assessments forms will be presented. The current information about Complicated Grief in the DSM 5 will be explained and how clinicians can use this information to help your clients. Self care strategies will be provided.
This presentation will focus on the convening, findings and recommendations from the Grief, Bereavement and Mental Health Summit that took place during COVID, literature research, and data gathering focused on the BC context of prioritizing grief and bereavement as it becomes a socio-economic, environmental and pandemic-related crisis.
7541
The ABCs of Serious Illness Communication program: All clinicians, Better Communication skills
Jeff Myers
7585
Simplifying serious illness communication: the Preparing or Deciding model
Jeff Myers
This presentation introduces ABCs, All clinicians, Better Communication skills, an evidence-based, clinician-facing, person-centred program of resources & training experiences to build serious illness communication skills. ABCs builds on strengths of existing frameworks & programs, and was designed for any interprofessional team member, in any care setting and is relevant to all learners and clinicians at any level of training and practice. Feasibility and pilot testing data will be presented.
This presentation introduces Preparing or Deciding, a new way to think about serious illness communication. Clinicians continue to be uncertain with their role in having conversations about serious illness and variability persists in how terms are defined. The result is a lack of clarity on the purpose, tasks, and outcomes of individual conversations about serious illness. The simple heuristic Preparing or Deciding helps clarify these as well as how clinicians can understand their role.
7545
Implementing the Serious Illness Conversation Program – A Literature Review
Rachel Carter7545
Serious Illness Conversation Guide Implementation Champions’ Experiences
Kathleen Yue
This literature review aims to understand the barriers and facilitators to Serious Illness Conversation Program (SICP) implementation and identify performance measurements. Findings from this literature review will offer insights into the process of SIC Implementation in the real-world context. Moreover, findings from this review adds to a nuanced understanding of the complexities, dynamics, and key considerations for successful SIC program implementation.
This qualitative research project explores the experiences of clinicians who have successfully implemented the Serious Illness Conversation Guide (SICG) within their program, practice and/or organization. The aim of this work is to better understand the SICG implementation process and learn from the successes of experienced clinicians. This research approaches implementation through a dynamic and relational lens, acknowledging the complex and highly contextually nature of program implementation
7446: Skills for Life: Building Resilience, Joy & Mindful Self-Compassion
Stephen Liben
Conceptually understanding an idea, or simply knowing that something is helpful and true for us, such as “it is important to be aware of my own limits” is not enough to produce changes in behavior or to give us new “skills” (if only!). Participants will engage in contemplative practices (aka brief meditations), and structured small group exercises. Clinical resilience building will be explored, and specific mindful self-compassion exercises will be practiced together in this workshop.
7428: Understanding and Addressing the Grief of the Palliative Care Profession: The Key to Professional Resiliency
Anita Mehta
A reflective process can be helpful for healthcare professionals to integrate loss and grief into their practice in a manner that supports their professional resiliency. This interactive workshop will explore loss and grief in the context of caring in pallliative care. A narrative approach using case examples and video vignettes will be used to highlight the importance of recognizing the need to grieve. Strategies for reflection will be discussed and implemented during this workshop
7693: Walking Alongside Indigenous Peoples who are Seriously Ill: Addressing the Need for Culturally Safe-r Palliative Care
Holly Prince
This session discusses structural vulnerability and the social determinants of health that impact health and access to quality care for Indigenous peoples. It highlights the need for equity-oriented approaches to care, which must be embedded within the health care system and providers’ practice. Lastly, it explores reconciliation and allyship as strength-based responses to moving forward together.
TBD
7506: Is it time to rethink the philosophy of hospice care in Ontario?? A focus on hospice residence admission criteria
Nadine Persaud, Dr. Donna Spanner
The rigidity of in-patient hospice care criteria has been proven to be a barrier for individuals living with a life-limiting illness, in particular structurally vulnerable populations. The current hospice criteria, limits access and predominately serves individuals living with cancer during the last moments of life. Through this interactive workshop, participants will be challenged to think outside of the box as we work together to ensure hospice care is accessible and equitable.
Integrating online education into practice through reflection and group facilitation: Case Study – PACE for PSWs
Kath Murray, Ruth Richardson, Karine Diedrich, Christine Gordon
TBD
7443: Evaluating Undergraduate Palliative Care Medical Education at McMaster University: A Quality Improvement Project
Jeffrey McCarthy
This workshop will provide an overview of the evaluation of the formal and informal UGME curriculum at McMaster University including how well it equips students with core skills of a primary palliative approach to care by the end of medical school as defined by national EFPPEC competencies. Specifically, the workshop will describe the integration of 15 LEAP Fundamentals modules through curriculum mapping, as well as strengths and gaps revealed to date in the evaluation of the curriculum.
7690: Opioid-Related Health Harms and Palliative Care: A Population-based Cohort Study
Rebecca Bagnarol
This cohort study is the first to show population-level involvement of palliative care among those with opioid-related health harms (OHH). Linked ICES health administrative databases were used to identify all decedents in Ontario with a history of OHH within 3 years of death. The primary outcome was receipt of palliative care overall and stratified by setting. The findings of this study have the potential to improve palliative care practice and policy for people who use opioids.
7701: Describing Ontarians with and without schizophrenia who are nearing death
Colleen Webber
This oral presentation will provide:
1) Background on end-of-life care for individuals with schizophrenia and rationale for this research.
2) Overview of approach for identifying individuals with schizophrenia using health administrative data.
3) Results and interpretation of findings (e.g., differences in end-of-life sociodemographics, health status, and healthcare access for individuals with and without schizophrenia).
4) Future directions for this work.
7481: Helping family caregivers of community-based family members as the end of life approaches
Donna Wilson
People of all ages may need help, but advanced old age is a time when people commonly start needing daily help. This need is usually progressive. One or more family members (usually females) provide all or much of this help outside of hospitals and nursing homes. We conducted a 4-part study in 2022 with the findings revealing 11 common needs and 5 required community-based services to support end-of-life care outside of hospitals and nursing homes.
7535: Intersecting Palliative Care and Design Research: Co-designing an Intervention to Improve Patient and Family Caregiver Experiences
Krystal Kehoe MacLeod
To design a collaborative, innovative hospital-to-home transition intervention at end of life, co-design workshops led by design and health services researchers are gathering perspectives from those receiving or delivering a palliative approach to care. Data will inform low- and high-fidelity prototyping, and will inform the development of potential interventions. Interventions will be assessed by participants. The most successful concept will be recommended for a subsequent implementation study
7559: Legacy activities in hospice palliative care: Lessons learned from a qualitative study of client and volunteer relationships
Jessica Bytautas
This presentation explores legacy activities, e.g., creative works produced by a person at the end of life. Research suggests legacy participation may have a strong psychotherapeutic benefit. Less attention has been given to questions of access and equity. Drawing on findings from a qualitative ethnographic study of a hospice palliative care organization in Toronto, we explore what legacy means for clients and the volunteers who care for them.
7484: Hospice Care for Marginalized Communities – New Models to Deliver Specialized Care for Patients
Fr. Dr. Matthew Durham, Hana Irving, Felicia Kontopidis
Saint Elizabeth Foundation opened Journey Home Hospice in 2018, serving patients experiencing homelessness and vulnerable housing in the heart of downtown Toronto and added a satellite location in Windsor in 2022. Using the knowledge built over nearly five years of care, we theorize the specialized approach to hospice care has the ability to impact other communities around Canada with a toolkit approach to enabling other organizations to do the same in areas where homelessness is prominent.
7677: Providing Palliative Care to Refugees: A Qualitative Case Study Exploring Barriers and Facilitators in the Greater Hamilton Area (GHA) of Ontario
Priya Gupta
This oral presentation will provide a case study on barriers to and facilitators in providing palliative care to refugee populations in the Greater Hamilton Area (GHA) of Ontario from the perspectives of primary care providers (PCPs) and refugees (and/or their family members). The objective of the presentation is to help audience members gain a better understanding of the regulatory, financial, and administrative environments that impact palliative care delivery to refugees.
7679: Canadian physicians’ attitudes and experiences providing palliative care to sexual and gender minority (SGM) individuals
Justin Sanders
This is a didactic presentation of results from a qualitative research study with time for questions and answers.
7475: Improving equitable access to palliative care for structurally vulnerable populations: How to incorporate health navigation into your palliative care program
Nadine Persaud, Trevor Morey, Lilian Robinson
Through this workshop, attendees will learn more about how palliative care programs can cultivate the Health Navigator role to improve 5 key areas of care delivery, including access, care coordination, social determinants of health, advocacy and counselling. Further, through interactive case discussions, attendees will strategize ways that they can bring this unique model of care to their local community, to improve equitable access to palliative care.
7490: Spotlight on Ethics: Stopping Eating and Drink by Advance Directive in Advanced Dementia
Christine Jones
Palliative Care Consultation is often requested to assist in decision making when there is medical and psychosocial complexity. An example of such complexity is when families request the cessation of feeding by hand in patients with advanced dementia. Workshop participants will review a case involved a request to Stop Eating and Drinking by Advance Directive (SED by AD) and discuss the practice implications, ethical tensions and legality of these directives.
7439: Loss & Stigma: Granting Permission to the Elephant in the room
Rennie Bimman
Hushed, ignored, and living at the margins—illness, loss, and death enact suffering that the grieving are often made to feel unworthy of feeling. This workshop will address the impact of stigma on loss experiences, and how to provide informed support.
Narratives of loss are often unwelcome, in healthcare and in the broader social script. This leads individuals facing loss to become disenfranchised in their grief—living a reality that is unacknowledged and unseen, but all the while unforgiving. People may feel they must continue as ‘normal’ among those unaware they are grieving, or forced to navigate uncomfortable, unhelpful responses from others. Grieving people may feel isolated and incongruous among their peers, and may feel their natural grief reactions are incorrect, particularly socially maligned emotions like anger and jealousy. Additional factors may further stigmatize loss experiences—for example, ambiguous and non-death losses, perinatal loss, and caregiver grief. Stigma can lead bereaved individuals to feel unable to share—harmfully reducing their access to support and their opportunities to process their grief in healthy ways. Therapeutic interventions must be cognizant of these impacts, and offer radical, empathetic permission to move past the barriers of stigma.
Acknowledging and understanding stigma is a crucial first step. In this workshop, participants will learn about the unique and dangerous role of stigma in loss, and explore and imagine how it can be addressed. Participants will gain tangible intervention skills in addressing stigma when providing bereavement support in both individual and group settings. Participants will engage with the concept of permission as a therapeutic intervention, and will learn practical strategies for employing this in facilitating support.
Learning Objectives
By attending this session, participants will:
- Gain clinical education regarding stigma, loss, and related grief concepts (e.g. disenfranchised grief, ambiguous loss, complicated grief)
- Be able to understand and explain how loss experiences may be uniquely impacted by stigma and taboos
- Explore major subtopics within loss that may be additionally stigmatized (e.g. grief in the context of dementia, child and infant loss)
- Acquire skills in both identifying and facilitating opportunities to reduce stigma and isolation in grief
- Understand the concept of permission and how to engage this in providing support
7705: Development of a consensus statement: Pre-drawn subcutaneous medications for community palliative care patients
Nicole Wikjord, Della Roberts
In Canada, it is common for community health nurses to pre-draw and label subcutaneous medications for caregivers to administer to patients. However, there are no evidence-based guidelines for nursing best practice. This workshop will describe the process to develop a consensus statement to guide nursing practice in community settings; review the factors and considerations for using pre-drawn syringes in the community; conclude with how to use the consensus statement to guide their own practice.
7553: Identity-Affirming End of Life Care: Moving beyond Cultural Competent Health care
Ekta Singh, Mariia Karizhenskaia, Tanvi Nandani
As health care professionals, how might we intentionally apply cultural humility principles to create identity-affirming patient experiences to support, empower, and mentor patients along their complex and unique palliative care journeys? This interactive session will focus on understanding the importance of leading with cultural humility and the benefits of applying Culturally Responsive/Identity-Affirming Care that centers patients’ lived experiences and unique cultural strengths.
7513: Bereavement in the Context of Homelessness: A Literature Review
Joshua Black
The aim of this literature review is to gather current and relevant information on how bereavement is experienced within the context of homelessness. A total of 18 articles were included. The dual experience of bereavement and homelessness has largely been overlooked in the literature, as most articles lacked attention to detailed or in-depth explorations of the topic. It is our hope that this literature review may prompt an urgent systemic response towards providing better bereavement support.
7516: Frontline Perspectives Considering the Dual Experience of Homelessness and Bereavement
Joshua Black
There has been a lack of research completed to understand the bereavement experiences for those experiencing homelessness. This research study explored the dual experience of homelessness and bereavement from the perspectives of frontline workers who provide support for individuals experiencing homelessness in BC. The research showed narratives of broadly unmet needs. This information should aid organizations in their response towards providing improved bereavement support moving forward.
7552: Advanced Care Planning & People Facing Homelessness
Kim Van Herk, Graydon Simmons
In this workshop we look forward to engaging with other palliative care providers around their experience of working with marginalized populations including the homeless, challenges around consent and capacity, practical steps on how to navigate the public guardian and trustee system and holistic ways to advocate for our clients and help them have their voices heard as the near end of life.
7518: Understanding how long-term care homes provide end-of-life symptom management medications – a qualitative study
Rhiannon Roberts
Palliative care is an essential care approach in long-term care (LTC) homes. Using administrative data, we developed a quality indicator that measures a crucial aspect of palliative care; end-of-life symptom management medications.
For our oral presentation we will discuss our qualitative study which aimed to:
1. Inform the refinement of the indicator, including its acceptability, feasibility and applicability.
7538: Exploring the Current Landscape of Palliative Approaches to Care in Long-Term Care Homes Across Canada: A Cross-Sectional Survey Study
Marie-Lee Yous
We present findings from 3 provinces (i.e., British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec) of a national cross-sectional survey study that explored the current state of palliative approaches to care in long-term care (LTC) homes. Participants were a diverse group of stakeholders. This study was part of a mixed methods study to complete a situational analysis. Early findings revealed the need for consistent collection of diversity data of residents in LTC homes.
7584: Existence and aspirations for integrating a palliative approach to care in long-term care homes in Canada: a qualitative study
Shirin Vellani
We present findings from a situational analysis study on what exists and what is needed to implement a palliative approach program in long-term care homes across three Canadian provinces: British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec. Our findings reveal that LTC homes in different provinces have similar systemic barriers to instituting person-centered care. There are also unique contextual factors that should be considered for the successful integration of a palliative approach to care.
7562: A Provincial Whole-systems Approach to Promoting Conversations that Matter
Eman Hassan
Our province-wide, multifaceted approach to ACP promotion and engagement uses complementary strategies across key stakeholder groups, catalysing collective impact. Our programs focus on building capacity within the healthcare system and academic institutions, empowering the community, and developing culturally and linguistically appropriate ACP resources for our diverse population. We will discuss key enablers to achieving success in this whole-systems approach.
7688: One Province’s journey to engaging a diverse geographical province and disconnected players in pursuit of a palliative approach in Long Term Care.
Clara Dyck
We will present the story of steps taken to successfully complete a situation analysis and scale up plan within a diverse geographic province and among disconnected players. We will share approach, steps taken and challenges experienced in B.C. We will examine unique contextual factors that should be considered when completing a situational analysis in the region you are contemplating implementing a palliative approach program in long-term care homes.
7458: Diverse Sounds: Inter-Cultural Soundscapes at End of Life
Bev Foster
In Canada, a country where the population is increasingly ethnically diverse, how do caregivers use music to meet the needs of families at end of life? How can these sounds be most relevant, universal and authentic? These are some of the questions we explored as in producing collection 3, diverse sounds for palliative and end of life care. While the collection is innovative, it is the process used that is a truly transferrable innovative prototype for intercultural endeavours in HPC.
7537: A Prospective Study on Survival Prediction of Patients with or without Cancer in a Palliative Care Hospice.
Sylvie Bouchard
This study objective was to determine the importance to have accurate prognosis and the impact on patients’ and families’ activities at the end of life. Families found it very much useful and would use it for planning of visits and communication and closure prior to death as would patients do. Having a more accurate prognosis during the last weeks of life is very much useful for families and to a lesser extend for patients.
7694: Enhancing delivery of Palliative care on an acute care oncology unit through the use of simulation based learning
Sarah Yip, Amina Malik
Simulation is an effective teaching tool for improving nursing clinical skills and confidence. An eight-hour education day was developed with didactic and simulation-based learning strategy for nurses on an inpatient oncology ward with the goal to improve their knowledge, skill and comfort in providing palliative and end of life care to their patients. Topics included understanding goals of care, end of life care and symptom management.
7707: Integration of an Early Palliative Care Clinical Nurse Specialist in Advanced Colorectal Cancer Care: Outcomes, Experiences, and Fifty-five Word Stories
Janet Vandale
Palliative Care Early and Systematic (PaCES) is an innovative program in Calgary, Alberta providing early palliative care (PC) integrated within regular oncological care. In this presentation, the experience of the Clinical Nurse Specialist providing early PC to advanced colorectal cancer patients is examined. Data from the PaCES pilot for advanced colorectal cancer are shared, including more early PC referrals, fewer hospital days, and health system cost savings.
The Role of Caregivers in Palliative Care
Presented by:
- TBD
Examining the Assumptions and Asserting the Importance of Palliative Care as a Universal Human Right
Presented by:
- Holly Prince
- Nadine Persaud
- Monica Do Coutto Monni
TBD
CLOSING PLENARY SPEAKER
Dr. Kathryn Mannix
SAT. OCTOBER 14, 2023
Kathryn trained in general internal medicine and then moved sideways from training in medical oncology to develop her interest in palliative care. Before Palliative Medicine was an accepted medical speciality in the UK, she devised her own training scheme that included spending time in medical specialties associated with incurable long-term conditions (including a month in Canada), and also training as a Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapist. After appointment to a consultant post in 1995 she worked in hospices, patients’ own homes and led a busy palliative care service in a large teaching hospital, and she was regional lead clinician for palliative and end of life care in North East England.
Her research interests were in palliation of nausea and vomiting, and in the application of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) in a palliative care setting. With CBT colleagues she devised and validated ‘CBT First Aid’ training for physical health practitioners, a training programme providing additional skills for helping patients with their difficult symptoms and situations.
Kathryn took early retirement in 2016 to campaign for better public understanding of dying. Her first book With The End In Mind was shortlisted for the Wellcome Book Prize, became a Sunday Times best-seller, and has been translated into 14 languages so far. Her second book, Listen: how to find the words for Tender Conversations, was published to critical acclaim in 2021.
7508: Exploring the Experiences of Hospice Healthcare Workers Caring for Adolescents and Young Adults with Advanced Cancer: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis
Nadine Persaud
This workshop is based on an interpretative phenomenological analysis doctoral research study, which was conduced across Canada at 4 paediatric in-patient hospices. The aim was to better understand the lived experiences of hospice healthcare workers who provide palliative care to adolescents and young adults living with advancer cancer. The findings based on the voices of 18 interdisciplinary healthcare workers will be shared along with the contributions to knowledge, policy and practice.
7557: Establishing a consensus-driven, evidence-informed definition of the support provided by hospice societies in British Columbia
Rachel Carter
In this workshop we will present a consensus-driven, evidence-informed definition of support provided by hospice societies in BC. Informed by a literature review and environmental scan, we conducted a modified-Delphi process with an expert panel of 56 respondents to iterative surveys, each informed by the de-identified results of the last. We will share the definition and the process we followed, and discuss with workshop participants the applicability of the definition in their jurisdictions.
7577: Investing in Palliative Care as a First Step to Addressing Canada’s Health Human Resource Crisis
Jeffrey Moat
The current crisis in Health Human Resources (HHR) poses an unprecedented and urgent threat to the sustainability of Canada’s health care systems, both in the short- and long-term. With a growing aging population, palliative care is a key health care priority across Canada, providing a timely opportunity to test various HHR priorities and demonstrate their success.
7583: Embedding a Person-Centered Approach in Planning Effective Public Education and Awareness Campaigns
Katrielle Ethier
The principles of a person-centered approach to care are also the foundation of effective public communications. By understanding their audience’s needs and values, organizations can ensure their message reaches the right people with the right message. This workshop will describe how the person-centered approach can be embedded into public communications, education and awareness campaign planning to reach a target audience more effectively and strengthen palliative care awareness.
7684: Exploring and supporting non-physical suffering in hospice/palliative care: Barriers and opportunities
Maxxine Rattner
The prevention and relief of suffering, physical and non-physical, is a primary aim of palliative care. This workshop will focus on recent research highlighting interdisciplinary team members’ experiences encountering patients’ non-physical suffering; it will provide space for participants to reflect on their own experiences working with patients’ non-physical suffering, increase their understanding of this form of suffering, and provide clinical tools and tips to support front-line practice.
7686: 7 tips to design the hospice palliative care program evaluation that works for you
Shelby Corley
Program evaluation is often seen as an administrative burden, a box-checking exercise that accompanies grants. But evaluation should really be a powerful process for learning and improvement. Your evaluation should help you deliver better care for your clients and caregivers.
This workshop is designed for leaders, program managers, coordinators, planners, researchers and knowledge translators. In this workshop, I’ll share 7 practical tips to help you design the evaluation that works for you.
7454: Building your team for life transitions
Marc Seguin
We are all living longer, with a significant likelihood of some reduction in our ability to operate independently, caused by natural aging, life events, or illness. Marc introduces the PACT (Plan-Activate-Communicate-Transition) framework, to ensure continuity and consistency in the management of financial, physical and mental affairs, allowing all to live with peace of mind.
7517: How to Best Support Bereaved People in the Post-COVID-19 Era? Provincial Evidence-Informed Recommendations by Stakeholders in British Columbia
Eman Hassan, Anica Butters
Recent studies and symposiums we conducted in BC revealed the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the bereavement experience and the available support services. We used findings from this work to inform a provincial roundtable that explored strategies to improve the bereavement experience in BC moving forward. The roundtable discussions provided the much-needed conversation to build a provincial action plan to minimize gaps in bereavement services and improve the bereavement experience in BC.
7510: Increasing patient identification and provider competency in early palliative care: Results from the CAPACITI randomized controlled trial.
Daryl Bainbridge, Hsien Seow
We will present results from a randomized controlled trial of the CAPACITI palliative care training program for health care providers. Following CAPACITI, providers (n=294) reported a significant mean point increase of 7% in the proportion of their patients identified as requiring a palliative care approach. Competencies in providing this approach also improved significantly post intervention. No differences were detected in outcomes between self-directed or facilitated modes of CAPACITI.
7674: iRespite Services iRépit: Co-designing an app to coordinate respite care at end-of-life
Aimee Castro, Audrey-Jane Hall
Aimee Castro, RN PhD(c), and Audrey-Jane Hall, RN MBA(c), will present wireframing and interview results from Aimee’s three-phase doctoral research program with nurses, patients, and family caregivers. These results will inform the design of an app to coordinate respite care services for families coping with advanced cancers. Such an app could better support death at home, which is where most families and patients wish to be.
7408: Evaluating a End of Life Doula Training Program for Student Impact and Effectiveness
Jennifer Mallmes, Ariane Plaisance
This presentation will describe the history of end-of-life doulas as an emerging role and the assessment of one end-of-life doula program. The study’s results will be discussed with participants, and recommendations for future development will be presented.
7432: Palliative Education: Connecting with our Community
Cynthia Lapointe, Anita Mehta
This oral presentation will use examples of initiatives created and implemented at a hospice to 1) highlight the importance of compassionate community initiatives related to education and awareness; 2) provide examples of educational seminars and workshops that serve to address critical topics related to palliative care (e.g. advance care planning and bereavement); 3) discuss the feedback received and it’s importance to the formulation of future education opportunities.
7724: SHPCA Hospice Palliative Care Network Initiative – linking communities across the province
Mary-Anne Parker
The presentation will take viewers through the 2023 road show’s collaboration with Saskatchewan rural communities and the development of an online communication network that permits both the public and professionals to access multi-disciplinary approaches to hospice palliative care.
Participants will be given the opportunity to test the network with their own scenario and information requirements.
