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President's
message
2002
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By
Stein
Kaasa, President EAPC 1999-2005
New
developments for the new millennium
The
strength and influence of the EAPC really depends upon
the contribution of its members
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The
European Association for Palliative Care (EAPC) was established
to promote palliative care in Europe and to act as a focus
for all of those who work, or have an interest, in the field
of palliative care.
The
EAPC has grown rapidly since its foundation in 1988 and today
consists of 240 individual members and 25 collective member
associations representing over 23,000 people.(1)
The
strength and influence of the EAPC really depends upon the
contribution of its members. The biennial congresses of the
EAPC bring members together and have become one of the highlights
of the palliative care calendar. The congresses provide opportunities
for networking, for keeping in touch with latest developments,
and for renewing energy and enthusiasm for the work. However,
only a small proportion of the membership is able to attend
each congress and the EAPC has developed other initiatives
to involve the membership and to promote the discipline. The
four networks of the EAPC (Research, Ethics, Education, Policy
and Public Health) have served as vehicles for many important
developments. They were designed to provide a focus for activities
and have allowed many individuals and organisations to contribute
to the EAPC through them.
The
EAPC's Board of Directors has continually reviewed the structures
and organisation of the Association as it has evolved. Recently,
the Board has proposed that the activity within the networks
may be better organised through specific task forces, which
will undertake a particular project with a clearly defined
and time-limited objective. For example, in the field of ethics,
the Board proposes to set up a task force to update and revise
the position paper on euthanasia that was published in the
first edition of the European Journal of Palliative Care
(EJPC).(2) Members may propose topics or projects to
be undertaken by a task force which will be considered by
the Board. Details and an application form will soon be available
on the EAPC website (www.eapcnet.org). The structure of the
research network will remain as it is. The network's Steering
Committee has created a network of collaborating centres around
Europe and has recently completed a major study involving
a cross-sectional survey of palliative care in 20 different
countries. A total of 141 palliative care services took part
in the study and the initial results of this investigation
were presented at the 1st Congress of the Research Network
at Berlin in December 2000.
Communication
is a subject of continuing importance within the EAPC. The
EAPC website is crucial in this respect and we encourage all
members to visit the site regularly. It is also important
that members contribute to the website and draw attention
to events which could be usefully publicised here.
The
EAPC's journal, the EJPC, is a fundamental part of
the Association's communication strategy. The journal has
the potential to reach a much wider audience and the Board
will be making every effort to encourage wider readership
and more subscriptions. However, in future, the EAPC Newsletter
will not be included in the journal, or distributed as a separate
document, but it will be available on the website every quarter.
The changes to the organisation of the EAPC will result in
more cost-effective working, particularly in the areas previously
covered by the networks. Effective communication will also
be improved and we are keen to encourage greater participation
by the members. Finally, a major initiative for the EAPC will
be to facilitate the development of palliative care in Eastern
Europe through collaboration with the Soros Foundation and
the East and Central European Palliative Care Taskforce (ECEPT).
As we begin the 21st century, the EAPC is vibrant and growing.
It can only continue with your help, so please join us and
join in.
Stein
Kaasa, EAPC President, Norway;
Geoffrey Hanks, Immediate Past President, UK
References
1. www.eapcnet.org
2. Roy DJ, Rapin C-H. Regarding euthanasia. EJPC 1994; 1(1):
57–59.
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