Palliative care

ALTERNATIVE LABELS
Hospice
Palliation
Palliative medicine
Palliative treatment


Briefing paper

Ensuring the quality of palliative care in Australia’s prisons

Australia’s prison population is growing and ageing, which is placing an increasing burden on the provision of healthcare in prison. This paper highlights the significant gap in national data about all elements of palliative care need and provision in prisons, and describes how data collection...
Journal article

Palliative care education in the Asia Pacific: challenges and progress towards palliative care development

While access to palliative care is recognized internationally as a human right, from a global health perspective, there are many gaps within the professional services that provide palliative care together with corresponding health inequities for people needing to access palliative care. Palliative care development, or...

Guide

Yarning about sad news and sorry business

This toolkit, developed in collaboration with Health Consumers Queensland, gathers insights and perspectives from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples living in Queensland on engagement and consultation processes in relation to palliative care.
Report

Death Literacy Index: a report on its development and implementation

The Death Literacy Index (DLI) provides a means to measure and research public health palliative care initiatives, including those under the umbrella of Compassionate Communities, by exploring the ways in which community members’ knowledge and practice are enhanced through these initiatives. This report provides an...
Report

Investing to save: the economics of increased investment in palliative care in Australia

This report calls for an overhaul of the palliative care system in Australia, including an additional annual investment of just over $350 million, which will result in a saving of over $450 million across the broader health care system every year.
Report

Current barriers to patient access to medicinal cannabis in Australia

This report recommends that Australia's Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) review and improve its online resources for health professionals relating to the regulations and processes for prescribing medicinal cannabis through the Special Access Scheme and Authorised Prescriber pathways.
Journal article

Improving palliative and end-of-life care for rural and remote Australians

This article in describes the development and implementation of the Far West NSW Palliative and End-of-Life Model of Care, a systematic solution that could drive improvement in the provision of a quality palliative approach to care and support from any clinician in a timely manner...
Report

Exploratory analysis of barriers to palliative care

This report describes key barriers and promising approaches for improving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ experience of palliative care in Australia. It covers advance care planning and ways the palliative care sector can improve access and quality of care for this group.
Report

Prevalence of advance care planning documentation in Australian health and residential aged care services report 2019

This study identifies a number of important findings relating to advance care planning document uptake relevant to policy makers, health and residential aged care service providers and workforce, palliative care services, researchers, and the general public.
Journal article

Passing on wisdom: exploring the end-of-life wishes of Aboriginal people from the midwest of Western Australia

This journal article brings together insights gained through two different types of discussion about dying and end-of-life wishes with Aboriginal people.
Discussion paper

Dying well: improving palliative and end of life care for people with dementia

This paper calls for more education and support to encourage the creation of advance care plans for people diagnosed with dementia to be paramount. It emphasises the need for the planning and communication with health professionals and family about the plan, to occur early –...
Report

Palliative care services in Australia: September 2019 update

In Australia, and many other parts of the world, the demand for palliative care services is increasing due to the ageing of the population and the increases in the prevalence of cancer and other chronic diseases that accompany ageing.
Statistics

Revisit review of South Australia's Palliative Care Services Plan 2009-16: statistical addendum

This report forms a statistical addendum to complement the Health Performance Council’s Revisit review of South Australia’s Palliative Care Services Plan 2009-16.
Report

Palliative care in the Pacific: initial research

This report presents an initial examination of palliative care across the Pacific region. There is scarce literature on palliative care in Pacific island countries and territories, but the documented disease profile shows a need for expanded palliative care.
Report

Palliative care in the Pacific: initial research

Oxfam New Zealand’s Advocacy and Campaigns Director, Joanna Spratt, finds there is scarce literature on palliative care in Pacific island countries and territories, but the documented disease profile shows a need for expanded palliative care as well as more funding; leadership; support training, coaching and...
Case study

Revisit review of South Australia’s Palliative Care Services Plan 2009-16

This review is a five‐year revisit of the 2013 report, Improving end of life care for South Australians. That report was a midpoint examination of the implementation of South Australian Health's Palliative care services plan 2009‐16, which outlined the South Australian government’s commitment to expand...
Report

Experience internationally of the legalisation of assisted dying on the palliative care sector: final report

This report examines the international experience on the palliative care sector of the legalisation of voluntary assisted dying (VAD).
Briefing paper

Integrated information networks to support end-of-life care in general practice

Australia’s population is ageing and with this trend comes the burden and complexity of increasing physical illness and disability. This burden escalates as a person nears death and as a consequence, the cost of care becomes disproportionately high in the last year of life. Currently...
Report

Palliative care services in Australia: May 2018 update

The goal of palliative care is to improve the quality of life of patients with an active, progressive disease that has little or no prospect of a cure. With the growth and ageing of Australia's population, and an increase of chronic and generally incurable illnesses...
Report

Life before death: improving palliative care for older Australians

Several myths undermine the broader benefits that good palliative care can provide for patients.
Report

Planning and evaluating palliative care services in NSW

This NSW Auditor-General audit report finds that there is no overall policy framework for palliative and end-of-life care in the state, nor is there comprehensive monitoring and reporting on services and outcomes.
Report

Review of adult palliative care services in New Zealand

Summary: This review presents a refreshed strategic direction for adult palliative care and proposes a suite of initiatives to help manage future increases in demand for palliative care. We know that as people live longer there will be more people with complex conditions who will...
Strategy

Palliative care action plan

New Zealand’s population is ageing and an increasing number of people are living longer. All sectors recognise the imperative to prepare for these trends. In the health sector, our system needs to change to meet the growing demand for palliative care, which is projected to...
Report

Inquiry into end of life choices: final report

During this inquiry, the Committee received 1037 submissions, 925 from individuals in a private capacity and 112 from organisations. The overwhelming majority of individual submissions discussed assisted dying. Only a small number focused solely on palliative care.