Resources

Voluntary assisted dying (VAD) is an emerging area for aged care in Australia. With VAD operating in all Australian States by the end of November 2023, aged care providers and staff will increasingly receive questions about VAD from those they care for and their families. In this blog, Penny Neller from End of Life Directions for Aged Care (ELDAC) answers common queries about VAD in aged care.

Christy Hunt, ELDAC’s Workforce Development Manager, describes some of her team’s initiatives for improving the palliative care skills and knowledge of the aged care workforce.

Palliative and end-of-life care training is a growing educational need for home care and residential aged care workers with growing numbers of Australians expected to die while receiving aged care services. This resource from ARIIA is a short easy-to-read summary of the research evidence.

Good communication between people with life-limiting illnesses and their health care professionals is important for achieving a high quality of palliative care and positive end-of-life experiences for older people and their families. This resource from ARIIA is a short easy-to-read summary of the research evidence.

Advance care planning is a process that enables a person to communicate and discuss their preferences for future medical treatment and care with their family and care providers to come to a shared understanding. This resource from ARIIA is a short easy-to-read summary of the research evidence.

Emergency department visits and hospital admissions are common for people in residential aged care nearing the end of their life. This may not always be in their best interests, necessary, or in line with their preferences. This resource from ARIIA is a short easy-to-read summary of the research evidence.

Dr Priyanka Vandersman, Research Fellow, End of Life Directions for Aged Care (ELDAC), describes the ELDAC digital dashboard for tracking end-of-life care processes and indicators in aged care and explains why innovations of this kind are vital for transforming the sector.

Kristina Walsh, Flinders University, describes the Compassionate Communities initiative that is promoting a whole of community approach to the end of life where dying, death and grief are a social and collective responsibility.

Shona McQueen from Catholic Health Australia describes the work of End of Life Directions for Aged Care (ELDAC). This initiative, funded by the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care, aims to improve the aged care workforce’s capacity to provide quality palliative and advance care planning.

Professor Josephine Clayton, Director of Palliative Care Research & Learning, HammondCare, describes the Advance Project Dementia Toolkit—a free online resource for clinicians, managers, and careworkers in aged care and primary care settings for building skills in initiating conversations about advance care planning and assessing the palliative care needs of people living with dementia.