Canadian Virtual Hospice launches new palliative and end-of-life care knowledge tools

Early integration of palliative care leads to improved quality of life and satisfaction with care, and in some cases, improved survival. The Canadian Partnership Against Cancer’s Palliative and End-of-Life Care Initiative aims to improve access to palliative and end-of-life care, improve continuity of care and enhance end-of-life experiences for cancer patients and their families.

With funding from the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer, the Canadian Virtual Hospice has developed new tools to address palliative and end-of-life care knowledge gaps as part of this initiative.

LivingMyCulture.ca, Indigenous Voices: Stories of Serious Illness and Loss, MyGrief.ca and Methadone4Pain.ca are knowledge tools that inform and empower patients and educate health care providers.

LivingMyCulture.ca: Conversations about care, cultural and spirituality at end of life

Quality palliative care helps people honour their culture, traditions and spirituality. In collaboration with pan-Canadian partners, Virtual Hospice has developed LivingMyCulture.ca which shares the stories and wisdom of members of 11 cultural communities about serious illness, end of life and grief to address a gap in service and support. The video series helps improve quality of life and supports quality care at end of life that is culturally safe and inclusive. The cultures highlighted are: Chinese, Ethiopian, Filipino, Indian, Iranian, Italian, Pakistani, Somali, First Nation, Inuit and Métis.

Indigenous voices: Stories of serious illness and grief

Virtual Hospice has launched Indigenous voices: Stories of serious illness and grief to support quality care at end of life that is culturally safe and inclusive. In this video and print series, First Nations, Inuit and Métis from across Canada share stories about traditions, rituals and spirituality, experiences of care and after death ceremonies and grieving. The series was created by Indigenous people for Indigenous people.

 MyGrief.ca: Understanding grief and loss

MyGrief.ca is a free online resource to help people work through their grief from the comfort of their own home, at their own pace. It was developed by family members who’ve “been there”, and grief experts to complement existing community resources and help address the lack of grief services particularly in rural and remote areas. It is also an education tool for health providers.

 Methadone4Pain.ca

Methadone4Pain.ca is a course for physicians wishing to improve their knowledge and develop core competencies in methadone prescribing for pain management in palliative care for advanced cancer patients. Approved for 1 hour MainPro-M1 credits and as a Royal College Accredited Group Learning Activity (Section 1).