The 16th World Congress of the International Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association will take place in Cape Town on 15-18 May 2024, and will be the first ever to be held in Africa.
The African Palliative Care Association and its partners, the Worldwide Hospice Palliative Care Alliance, the International Association of Hospice and Palliative Care, the International Children’s Palliative care Network, the Walther Centre of the University of Indiana, and the Kings College London (Cicely Saunders Institute), will host the full day track on palliative care on Thursday 16th May 2024.
Palliative care is very crucial as a component of management of hepato-pancreato biliary cancers and other life-threatening conditions. In Africa, hepatocellular and pancreatic cancers’ mortality rate is almost equal to the incidence, given that hardly any patients are cured or survive it.
The integration of a palliative care track at this conference seeks to ensure that palliative care is integrated in hepato-pancreato biliary cancer and other related disease management, and presents a great opportunity to share palliative care research findings, best practices, delivery models and experiences of multidisciplinary teams of health workers, and lived experiences of patients, their families and communities relating to these conditions. It will also highlight the human, financial, infrastructural and other resources that will be needed in this regard if we are to realise improved access to these services in the move towards Universal Health Coverage by 2030.
The conference will also feature key aspects of inclusion of human rights approaches in care, and the role that palliative care teams can play in increasing access to cancer prevention in communities including referrals for management of hepatitis B and C, Hepatitis B vaccines, preventing exposure to alcohol and other potential triggers in the household settings.
The #PalliativeCare track will allow participants an opportunity to explore creative approaches to palliative and comprehensive chronic care delivery for patients with hepato-pancreato biliary disease at home, in the community, in hospital, in hospice and everywhere it is needed.
Tentatively, sessions will include panel discusions, plenary presentations, lived experiences testimonials, and research presentations on topics that will include:
- Common hepato-pancreato biliary disease and the state of palliative care globally
- Creative palliative care delivery models including referral systems (Abstracts will be invited from leading and emerging providers from Africa and other regions)
- The role of Academia in palliative care development (University of Cape Town, and other leading academic institutions that will be invited)
- Innovations and technologies in delivering palliative care for patients with HBP cancers ( Abstract submissions)
- The role of palliative care providers in hepato-pancreato biliary disease prevention (Best practice models will be invited)
- Integration of palliative care in HPB care systems, conclusion and way forward.
Relevant cross-cutting issues such as multi-disciplinary teams in hepato-pancreato biliary disease prevention, management and palliative care for adults and paediatrics will be woven through all sessions.
In addition, psychosocial issues including mental health, aging, spiritual care and utilising disease prevention opportunities in the process of planning, designing and implementing palliative and comprehensive chronic care programmes will also be included.
The conference will bring together global and African experts in hepato-pancreato-biliary disease prevention and management as well as palliative care practitioners, decision makers, donors, patients, national associations, technical experts, researchers, teachers, students, health financing experts, advocacy practitioners, organisational development specialists and communications and fundraising experts.
The dedication of a full day to palliative care at this conference underscores the importance of integration of palliative care, and builds on APCA’s vision and that of its national, regional, and global partners of ensuring access to high-quality palliative and comprehensive chronic care for all who need it in Africa.
Palliative care providers will get discounted registration fees.
Visit www.ihpba2024.org/ for more information on the congress.
Leave a Reply