The aim of the module is to increase awareness about the specific needs of LGBT people receiving and needing palliative and end of life care.
It is also aimed at supporting health and social care professionals to provide a culturally competent service for LGBT people, and their families and partners within a palliative care context.
The training has been piloted across several hospices in England. Around 140 health and social care professionals have participated in the training evaluation which comprised a pre and post-session questionnaire.
The questionnaires are mainly focused on attitudes and level of knowledge, confidence, and comfort of participants with regards to caring for LGBT individuals with life-limiting illness.
Commenting on the project’s development, Claude Chidiac, Lecturer in Palliative Care, based at the Pepperell Education Centre at Saint Francis Hospice and Principal Investigator for the training project, said:
‘This project gave health and social care professionals a unique opportunity to explore the impact of sexual orientation and gender identity on palliative and end of life care. It also provided the space to reflect on and identify ways of creating LGBT-inclusive care.
“We are so excited to share the outcomes of the project. The results will be published in a report which will be available to the public. We are hoping that the outcomes of this project will help providers to take action and start working towards an LGBT-inclusive service delivery.
“It is encouraging to see some of the changes already being introduced as a result of this training. For instance, this training has become embedded as a core unit within the interdisciplinary MSc Palliative and End of Life Care programme at London South Bank University.
“We envisage that this project will inform the direction of future activities which will further promote the development of an inclusive service and demonstrate our commitment to our LGBT service-users’’.
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