Guidelines for a palliative approach for aged care in the community setting: A suite of resources

In Australia, many people ageing in their own homes are becoming increasingly frail and unwell, approaching the end of life. A palliative approach, which adheres to palliative care principles, is often appropriate. These principles provide a framework for proactive and holistic care in which quality...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Toye, Christine, Blackwell, S., Maher, S., Currow, D., Holloway, K., Tieman, J., Hegarty, M.
Format: Journal Article
Published: 2012
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/41747
_version_ 1848756230178209792
author Toye, Christine
Blackwell, S.
Maher, S.
Currow, D.
Holloway, K.
Tieman, J.
Hegarty, M.
author_facet Toye, Christine
Blackwell, S.
Maher, S.
Currow, D.
Holloway, K.
Tieman, J.
Hegarty, M.
author_sort Toye, Christine
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description In Australia, many people ageing in their own homes are becoming increasingly frail and unwell, approaching the end of life. A palliative approach, which adheres to palliative care principles, is often appropriate. These principles provide a framework for proactive and holistic care in which quality of life and of dying is prioritised, as is support for families. A palliative approach can be delivered by the general practitioner working with the community aged care team, in collaboration with family carers. Support from specialist palliative care services is available if necessary.The Guidelines for a Palliative Approach for Aged Care in the Community Setting were published by the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing to inform practice in this area. There are three resource documents. The main document provides practical evidence based guidelines, good practice points, tools, and links to resources. This document is written for general practitioners, nurses, social workers, therapists, pastoral care workers, and other health professionals and responded to needs identified during national consultation. Evidence based guidelines were underpinned by systematic reviews of the research literature. Good practice points were developed from literature reviews and expert opinion. Two 'plain English' booklets were developed in a process involving consumer consultation; one is for older people and their families, the other for care workers.The resources are intended to facilitate home care that acknowledges and plans for the client's deteriorating functional trajectory and inevitable death. At a time when hospitals and residential aged care facilities are under enormous pressure as the population ages, such a planned approach makes sense for the health system as a whole. The approach also makes sense for older people who wish to die in their own homes. Family needs are recognised and addressed. Unnecessary hospitalisations or residential placements and clinically futile interventions are also minimised.
first_indexed 2025-11-14T09:08:53Z
format Journal Article
id curtin-20.500.11937-41747
institution Curtin University Malaysia
institution_category Local University
last_indexed 2025-11-14T09:08:53Z
publishDate 2012
recordtype eprints
repository_type Digital Repository
spelling curtin-20.500.11937-417472023-02-22T06:24:17Z Guidelines for a palliative approach for aged care in the community setting: A suite of resources Toye, Christine Blackwell, S. Maher, S. Currow, D. Holloway, K. Tieman, J. Hegarty, M. In Australia, many people ageing in their own homes are becoming increasingly frail and unwell, approaching the end of life. A palliative approach, which adheres to palliative care principles, is often appropriate. These principles provide a framework for proactive and holistic care in which quality of life and of dying is prioritised, as is support for families. A palliative approach can be delivered by the general practitioner working with the community aged care team, in collaboration with family carers. Support from specialist palliative care services is available if necessary.The Guidelines for a Palliative Approach for Aged Care in the Community Setting were published by the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing to inform practice in this area. There are three resource documents. The main document provides practical evidence based guidelines, good practice points, tools, and links to resources. This document is written for general practitioners, nurses, social workers, therapists, pastoral care workers, and other health professionals and responded to needs identified during national consultation. Evidence based guidelines were underpinned by systematic reviews of the research literature. Good practice points were developed from literature reviews and expert opinion. Two 'plain English' booklets were developed in a process involving consumer consultation; one is for older people and their families, the other for care workers.The resources are intended to facilitate home care that acknowledges and plans for the client's deteriorating functional trajectory and inevitable death. At a time when hospitals and residential aged care facilities are under enormous pressure as the population ages, such a planned approach makes sense for the health system as a whole. The approach also makes sense for older people who wish to die in their own homes. Family needs are recognised and addressed. Unnecessary hospitalisations or residential placements and clinically futile interventions are also minimised. 2012 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/41747 10.4066/AMJ.2012.1400 unknown
spellingShingle Toye, Christine
Blackwell, S.
Maher, S.
Currow, D.
Holloway, K.
Tieman, J.
Hegarty, M.
Guidelines for a palliative approach for aged care in the community setting: A suite of resources
title Guidelines for a palliative approach for aged care in the community setting: A suite of resources
title_full Guidelines for a palliative approach for aged care in the community setting: A suite of resources
title_fullStr Guidelines for a palliative approach for aged care in the community setting: A suite of resources
title_full_unstemmed Guidelines for a palliative approach for aged care in the community setting: A suite of resources
title_short Guidelines for a palliative approach for aged care in the community setting: A suite of resources
title_sort guidelines for a palliative approach for aged care in the community setting: a suite of resources
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/41747