Page 102 - HA Convention 2015

Special Topics

ST8.3 Palliative Care in Non-cancer Patients 14:30 Room 228

Monday, 18 May Empowerment for Patients with Advanced Illnesses and Their Family Caregivers
Lai TTK
Palliative Medical Unit, Grantham Hospital, Hong Kong

Patients with advanced illnesses have a substantial symptom burden that lowers their quality of life. Palliative care is
specialised medical care that focuses on improving the quality of life of patients by relieving their symptoms, pain, and
stresses from serious illnesses, including heart, liver, kidney, neurological diseases, as well as cancer. Palliative care
provides extra support and improves the well-being of patients and their family caregivers. However, most people are often
not prepared to live with an incurable illness. Most families do not know their information needs until a crisis occurs.

The concept of patient empowerment has become an integral part of palliative care and one of the major attributes of
healthcare professionals who provide palliative care services (Ciemins et al., 2014). Embracing empowerment means making
a paradigm shift, which is often difficult. Empowerment occurs when patients are actually making autonomous, informed
decisions about their preferred care and way of life. Apart from patients, caregivers may also look for help and support
themselves or other family members. Extended families and communities may have questions and require information on
palliative care.

Information transmission and communication among patients, families, and caregivers is a major issue of providing care
to people who are reaching the end of their lives. Patients and their family members commonly express the importance of
adequate information, attitudes of professionals, and quality of communication in the context of palliative care (Andershed,
2006; McIlfatrick et al., 2007). The appropriate and timely delivery of information can make the difference between a positive
care-giving experience and a distressing one (Dunbrack, 2005).

Providing effective counselling with high quality information can help patients and caregivers cope with their situation and
make expert decisions. A series of booklets and workbooks for patients and caregivers has been developed by the palliative
care team of the Grantham Hospital to help them understand their situation and to inform them about other care options.

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