Tag Archives: Groundswell Project

Elsewhere in the Palliverse – Halloween edition

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photo by David Mao itsdavoToday (in some parts of the world) it’s Halloween or, as Caitlin Doughty (@TheGoodDeath) calls it, “Culturally Sanctioned Morbidity Appreciation Day.” Please enjoy these links, which have nothing to do with Halloween but may have something to do with palliative care.

Is death taboo? The Groundswell Project conducted a quick survey. The results may surprise you. (The Groundswell Project)

Health researcher on a mission to get Indigenous men talking about prostate cancer and sexual health (ABC News)

“It’s about starting a conversation…[Doctors need to] throw in a phrase like how you going, how’s the old boy, is he getting up, is he getting the job done?”

“…I find men want to talk about it, but someone has to start the conversation with them.”

The silver tsunami is actually silver-brown. How does end-of-life care differ for minorities? asks geriatrician and palliative care doctor VJ Periyakoil (@palliator) in the Washington Post.

Pulitzer prize-winner Tina Rosenberg visits La Crosse, Wisconsin, home of the Respecting Choices program, where 96% of adults reportedly participate in advance care planning discussions. (Talking Early About How Life Should End, New York Times).

And now, a video about advance care planning!

Going to work, writing letters for the future and speaking your mind: Day-to-day living when you know you’re dying (Independent, UK)

In Australia: Federal Government to legalise growing of medicinal cannabis; Labor calls for nationwide scheme (ABC News). Apparently, we’re all for it: Legalised medical marijuana opposed by only 7% of Australians, poll shows (Guardian Australia)

Here’s a strange story to finish the list – “Parkinson’s disease: Scottish woman Joy Milne prompts study after claiming ability to smell condition.” Odd. Thanks to my colleague Dr Bornshin for the link. (ABC News)

Elsewhere in the Palliverse – #D2KD Edition

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photo by David Mao itsdavoWelcome to this week’s collection all things palliative from around the web. There have been some excellent palliative care-related articles published recently in the mainstream media, in addition to coverage of Dying to Know Day.

It’s Dying To Know Day (#D2KD) in Australia tomorrow, an “annual day of action dedicated to bringing to life conversations and community actions around death, dying and bereavement.” D2KD Ambassador Molly Carlile, AKA the Deathtalker, appeared on The Weekly this week, passionately arguing that the community needs to take ownership of death back from the health system, with discussion of advance care planning, preferred place of death, bereavement and more. I love her plans for her own funeral – watch the video above to find out more (it’s an extended version of the interview that appeared on TV). Continue reading →

Elsewhere in the Palliverse – reading list

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This TED Talk “How Not To Be Ignorant About the World” by Dr Hans Rosling (@HansRosling – Swedish medical doctor, statistician and Professor of International Health) and his son Ola Rosling is an entertaining and eye-opening look at how our biases and intuition lead to misconceptions. (For the record, I vote like a Swede – not a chimp.)

The beautiful poem Japanese Maple by the Clive James (written while he is dying) has been all over my social media feeds this week. Here’s The Guardian‘s take on why it’s resonating with people.

Bioethicist Ezekiel Emanuel writes in the Atlantic on Why I Hope to Die at 75. And here’s a rebuttal from Alex Smith at GeriPal.

Making a case for the integration of palliative care in policies on ageing and dementia – a European perspective (EAPC Blog)

More on dementia – Ageism and death anxiety (ehospice UK)

In Australia: Call for a Royal Commission into Nursing Home Care (ABC Radio National)

And a more positive look at residential aged care: A Nursing Home Can Be a New Beginning (Adele Horin)

An interview with the Groundswell Project (Dying Wishes – Australian Ageing Agenda)

The NHS (UK) has an End of Life Guidance app! (iTunes store)

The Institute of Medicine (US) released a report entitled “Dying in America: Improving Quality and Honoring Individual Preferences Near the End of Life.” There’s been a lot of discussion about it on palliative care social media and the mainstream media over the past week. Pallimed has a nice summary.

Terminally ill, but constantly hospitalised. (NPR)

Many Palliverse readers would be able to relate to this – The reality of nurses completing their own research (EAPC Blog)

If you haven’t already, consider signing the Montreal Declaration for palliative care (AHPCA Blog)

Also consider crowdfunding Little Stars, a movie about paediatric palliative care.