Oral Presentation Palliative Care Nurses Australia Conference 2022

CarerHelp Diversity – Developing Resources for Diverse Populations of End of Life Carers. (#45)

Di Saward 1 , Kristina Thomas 1 , Mark Boughey 1 , Jennifer Tieman 2
  1. Centre for Palliative Care, East Melbourne, VIC, Australia
  2. CareSearch - Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

Introduction-

CarerHelp is an online resource (www.carerhelp.com.au) that was launched in 2019 and funded by a National Palliative Care Project grant. It provides information and resources to support Australians who are caring for a partner, relative or friend at the end of life.

Aim-

The aim of this project is to increase the reach and accessibility of CarerHelp by focusing on the needs of specific populations of carers including -

  • Culturally and Linguistically Diverse communities
  • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
  • LGBTIQ+ communities
  • People with poor literacy
  • People from low socioeconomic backgrounds or are homeless
  • People who are vision impaired or have other disabilities which may affect their ability to use online information
  • Support workers, community workers or community leaders who may as part of their role, support diverse populations of carers.

Approach-

The approach included:

  1. A scoping study to appraise current resources and identify gaps
  2. Consultation with diverse populations
  3. Consultation with a translation service
  4. Developing artwork and design
  5. Review of new resources
  6. Evaluation

Findings-

The scoping study identified many high quality resources for diverse populations that focus on end of life care. However, there was limited content that was available in other languages, and gaps in resources for other diverse populations of carers.

Community consultation revealed modifications were required to existing CarerHelp resources in order to ensure they were acceptable for diverse population groups.

Modified and new resources are being developed for the target groups based on the identified gaps in consultation with communities. Relevant resources on other websites will be included in the CarerHelp library.

Implications for Practice-

Understanding the needs of a community and knowing what is already available is vital before developing new materials. Establishing relationships with communities is essential when developing culturally appropriate resources.

Conclusion-

CarerHelp will soon include a range of resources for diverse population groups to ensure all Australians have access to trustworthy information delivered in an accessible format to prepare them for their caring role.

  1. Saward, Research Nurse, Centre for Palliative Care, St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne
  2. Thomas, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Palliative Care, St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne
  3. Boughey, Director, Palliative Medicine, St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne
  4. Tieman, Director, CareSearch, Flinders University, Adelaide