Establishing integrated palliative care in 4 African countries
We were awarded a £1.6m grant from the Tropical Health and Education Trust (THET) for an innovative programme to strengthen palliative care within the national health service of four African countries.
Working in partnership with the African Palliative Care Association (APCA), and Makerere University Palliative Care Unit (MPCU) we are developing a new public and primary health approach to palliative care that includes service provision, support systems and supply chain mechanisms that are firmly integrated into the health system in order to enhance the provision of treatment, care and support for people living with life limiting illnesses.
We work with twelve hospitals and their associated community clinics (3 in each country) to establish replicable models of palliative care. The different hospitals: university training hospitals, tertiary referral hospitals, district hospitals, and rural based hospitals are building palliative care according to their local context, with training, services, and outward networks reflecting their local context and service demands.
In March 2015 meetings took place with the four national health ministries to plan for Palliative Care integration into national policy. From 2015-17 we will continue with a two year roll out programme of Palliative Care in Rwanda and a two year nurse leadership programme in Uganda.
Funder
Tropical Health and Education Trust 2013-17
Research Team
Liz Grant, Scott Murray, Mhoira Leng, Liz Namukwaya, Mary Robertson, Julia Downing