Webinar: Assessing Carer Needs

APHN will be hosting a FREE webinar on ‘Assessing Carer Needs – Reflections on improving Support for Carers’ on 26 October 2021, 1-2 pm (GMT+8). To check your local time for the webinar, click here: https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/

Parents of children with life limiting illnesses experience strain and distress and have needs that are not always met by health professionals. This study aimed to test if using the Paediatric Carer Support Needs Assessment Tool (pCSNAT) is useful for identifying support needs for parent of children with cancer and non-cancer conditions. The study involved parents completing the pCSNAT and some well-being assessments with health professionals at their first visit and repeated at a second visit after a period of 2-8 weeks. The results showed that the highest support needs for parents were: having time for yourself; practical help in the home; knowing what to expect in the future; financial, legal or work issues; and knowing who to contact if you are concerned. Using the pCSNAT appeared a practical ‘one stop shop’ to use and parent wellbeing appeared to improve over the two time periods.

We are honoured to have Nurse Suzanne Momber from Australia to speak on this topic.

Suzanne has extensive experience over 30 years at Perth Children’s Hospital in the area of Paediatric Oncology and Palliative Care within Oncology. The last 16 years she has had the role of Clinical Nurse Specialist overseeing care of children diagnosed with brain tumours, solid tumours and coordinating care for those in Oncology who require palliative care. She continues to work nationally and internationally alongside colleagues through Paediatric Palliative Care Australia New Zealand (PaPCANZ) and as a joint facilitator of the Quality of Care Collaboration in Paediatric Palliative Care – QuoCCA Project in WA (Western Australia) whereby a Nurse Educator is employed to develop and provide palliative care education to health professionals statewide. In 2016 Suzanne was a finalist in the Western Australian Nursing and Midwifery Awards (WANMEA) in the category of Excellence in Leadership.

When Suzanne was asked what made her want to be a nurse in the first place she recalled seeing a photojournalistic article on the care given by a burns nurse and the massive difference she was making to the patient’s life. The photos were graphic and the story challenging but they made her consider why the nurse would have chosen this type of career. Surely it was due to the nurse’s respect for life and her desire to care for others when sick and vulnerable. So it was for Suzanne.  And for Suzanne, nursing is a privilege. Suzanne believes that nurses are very fortunate to be allowed in by patients and their families during the most intimate times of their lives, and the fact that they do let us in speaks volumes for the faith and trust they have in us as nurses. She has not changed her beliefs and she continues to be challenged and humbled by this area of work.

This is the sixth session of our Palliative Care for Children: Learning & Fellowship Forum Series!

The programme will be in the following format:
– Case presentation with Q&A
– Learning issue of the Day
– In-depth discussion and experience sharing
– Programme updates and social exchange

The webinar will be hosted via Zoom. Register here: https://bit.ly/3DOZL2R

This webinar is organised by PPC Special Interest Group and hosted by APHN.