Launching! PCC4U Focus Topic 2 Toolkit: Caring for Australian Indigenous peoples affected by life-limiting illness
A blog post written by Kylie Ash & Sharon Wetzig
The PCC4U team is proud to announce that Focus Topic 2 Toolkit: Caring for Australian Indigenous peoples affected by life-limiting illness will be respectfully launched 17th March 2022 on National Close the Gap Day.
The significant redevelopment of Focus Topic 2 was in response to user feedback that the previous resource was limited in scope and application, was too generalised and that the case scenario “Tom’s Story” was inauthentic and not reflective of best practice in culturally safe and responsive care. The approach to develop a “toolkit” of resources offers a range of learning opportunities and a greater breadth of resources. It is intended that educators can select from the various learning activities to best meet the needs of their students in relation to this topic area.
About the Toolkit
To provide culturally-responsive care for people affected by life-limiting illness, health professionals need to be able to identify and respond effectively to needs. This resource has been developed to support entry-to-practice health professional students develop the knowledge and skills needed to provide quality care, across various settings, for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people with life-limiting illness, and their families and communities. In particular, the Toolkit:
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- aims to promote understanding and reframing of palliative care in Indigenous ways of knowing, being and doing.
- aligns with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Curriculum Framework (2014)
- includes strengths-based learning approaches, use of narratives, reflective activities that support development of humility and respectful healthcare practice and an understanding of rights-based pedagogy.
The Toolkit content has been mapped to key Frameworks and the PCC4U Graduate capabilities in palliative care. Further information is available on the PCC4U website on the learning outcomes, terminology used in the resource and recommendations to promote a safe and respectful learning experience. Visit https://pcc4u.org.au/learning/topics/topic2/ .
Approach to redevelopment
The redevelopment of this learning resource involved a rigorous and consultative process, involving engagement with Australian Indigenous stakeholders, organisational and project partners, educators and students. Feedback was sought at several key stages of development including learning outcome refinement, content development and website resource review.
Reviewers from a range of networks and groups were invited to participate in the peer review process. These included, existing PCC4U academic and clinical contacts, PEPA/IPEPA educators, Indigenous Advisory Group for the Palliative Care Education and Training Collaborative (PCC4U & PEPA/IPEPA), and the Leaders in Indigenous Medical Education (LIME) network. An open invitation was also included in the regular PCC4U eUpdate newsletter.
Feedback from peer reviewers was overwhelmingly positive, with many comments regarding the usefulness of the resource, the comprehensiveness of the content, and the value of the resource for entry-to-practice healthcare students.
The resources are contemporary, relevant, and provocative for many students, which is good – it can elicit deep learning. (Academic, Nursing)
The tone of the entire toolkit is really affirming and encourages people to participate. (Academic and clinician, Medicine)
Health student review of the Toolkit on the PCC4U website has further reinforced that it is an effective and engaging learning resource.
The content made me reflect quite a bit on my own biases and trying to come up with ways as health professionals that we can improve Indigenous palliative care issues. (4th year Student, Paramedicine and Nursing)
As an Aboriginal person - I found the information provided to be extremely respectful, thorough and safe….It's the truth and it does not fabricate the experiences of Indigenous people. (4th year Student, Social work)
We believe this resource will support the health workforce to improve the health of Australian Indigenous people through quality palliative care. It is live now and available for educators, health and aged care providers to access via the website: https://pcc4u.org.au/learning/topics/topic2/. We hope you enjoy using this resource and find it a great support for your learning, teaching and clinical practice.
Contact the team at QUT if you have any comments or feedback: pcc4u@qut.edu.au
Kylie Ash
National Project Manager
PCC4U
Sharon Wetzig
Learning and Development Coordinator
PCC4U/PEPA