Working with its’ strategic partnership with the Ministry of Health (MoH), the Ministry of Community Development, Mother and Child Health (MCDMCH), the Palliative Care Alliance Zambia (PCAZ) recently undertook a training for community caregivers. This took place in Choma, Southern Province.
The training was facilitated with financial support from the Global Partners in Care (formerly Foundation for Hospices in Sub-Saharan Africa- FHSSA) through the African Palliative Care Association (APCA).
The training was organized in partnership with Choma General Hospital to facilitate the continuum of care patients living with life-limiting conditions who have been discharged from the health facility into the community require.
The training shared palliative care skills and knowledge looking to promote a holistic approach to total pain assessment and management for chronically ill patients at community level.
The training also emphasized on attitude change towards care of the terminally ill in order to contribute to the quality of life of both the patient and the family.
The participants comprised of 23 Home Based Care (HBC) volunteers.
Home care visits were also scheduled to give the caregivers an opportunity to apply the newly acquired knowledge and skills. Much to the shock of the participants who thought they had always provided the required care to the patients, a lot ‘unspoken’ psychosocial issues were revealed. The PCAZ Community Care Patient Assessment Tool was introduced to the learners during the training and helped them on their visits. The Tool provided guiding questions that helped the caregivers probe for more relevant information from their clients.
Participants fed back that this really worked!
The Home Based Care Coordinator, Mrs Idah Nyanga happily shared her community visit experience and how the feeling of having been able to effectively administer the assessment tool has empowered her. She says in her own words.
“..I have learnt to give total care and support to palliative care patients and their families. My approach to caring for the sick and family members has now changed. The knowledge has increased my passion towards taking care of the sick. I will also pay more attention to child carers in relation to their needs and concerns so that they are referred to the right organizations for professional counseling. Palliative care is not only for adults but for children as well.” Idah Nyanga
For more information, contact:
- Visit: Palliative Care Alliance Zambia, Plot 6985/4 New Brentwood Drive, Longacres, P.O. Box 31566, Lusaka, Zambia.
- Email: pcaz@pcaz.org.zm
- Website: www.pcaz.org.zm
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