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Report 8th Congress of the EAPC
The Hague, The Netherlands, 2-5 April 2003
To
view the scientific programme and the presented abstracts, please
go to: www.eapcnet.org/TheHague2003/
To
download the pdf files of the full texts of the plenary lecturs
and the responses, click
here
Introduction
All
the EAPC conferences have contributed to a further development
of palliative care throughout Europe presenting ongoing and
previous work in the field and providing a meeting place for
health and social care professionals, academics and volunteers
from different settings in many countries. On the occasion of
the 8th EAPC Congress The Netherlands itself has served as an
example of this impetus in a country which has seen a remarkable
development in palliative care services over the past ten years.
The participants have been given the opportunity to acquaint
themselves directly with a number of these developments through
“on site” visits
Over
the years the movement of palliative care in Europe has gained
considerable momentum and has become increasingly evidence-based
– through deepening clinical experience, audit and quality
assurance, basic and applied research, and systematic reviews.
The Scientific Committee has decided to focus attention on
topics covering the whole scope of palliative care. Outstanding
speakers and experts in their field have been invited to address
these topics. In smaller parallel sessions there has been
time to discuss these and other issues in more detail. Special
attention has been given to the issue of “palliative
care and older people” – reflecting the consequences
and demands of an aging population on palliative care services.
During
previous meetings of the EAPC the direct and personal communication
with colleagues in the field has been often mentioned as being
of the greatest importance. Consequently, we wanted explicitly
to enhance this development by creating a proper setting for
the exchange of information and inspiration. The Scientific
Committee has regarded the opportunity to “meet and
sit down with your colleagues” as one of the major underlying
themes of the conference.
Sientific
programme
The 8th EAPC Congress has been a great success and
the scientific committee has received a very positive feedback
from the participants who have stated that this congress was
one of the best.
The
success of the congress is mainly linked to the great attention
that the scientific committee has given to the diversity of
the audience attending the EAPC congresses. The programme
has been organised in order to reach every category:
The
Scientific Committee has decided to include nine Plenary Sessions,
covering key aspects of palliative care and its development.
Speakers of outstanding reputation have been invited, including
health care professionals with extensive experience in palliative
care and distinguished academics.
Each
Plenary included two lectures, one of more biological nature
and the other one of more existential/psychosocial nature.
The
Plenary Speakers were given very clear recommendations on
how to plan and perform their talks. In fact they were asked
to take into account that the EAPC Congress audiences are
diverse in character; they comprise individuals from many
health care professions, from the social and human sciences,
from public health and planning, and also volunteers; among
this diverse group, knowledge and expertise also varies; international
experts are present, as well as relative newcomers to the
world of palliative care. Moreover the audience is very large
and many listen to a language which is not their own. Therefore
the Plenary Speakers were recommended that a successful lecture
should take account of this diversity.
The
Plenary Speakers were also asked to prepare a full text paper
of their lecture that was published in the European Journal
of Palliative Care.
The
plenary sessions have included a lecture in memory of Virgilio
Floriani and as recognition of the Floriani Foundation and
its contribution to palliative care over the years, including
its support for the foundation of the EAPC.
Each
Plenary Session has been followed by a parallel session organised
as a Discussion Panel, allowing both speaker and audience
to discuss the topic in more detail. A Rapporteur has given
a formal response to the plenary lecture and two independent
specialists have then given their statements on the topic.
Thereafter a general discussion has followed. At the end of
the discussion panel session, the Plenary Speaker was invited
to make some closing remarks. This initiative has brought
extended opportunities for discussion into the congress and
has been very well received by the audience.
Also
the Rapporteurs were asked to prepare a full paper of their
responses to the plenary lectures that were also published
in the European Journal of Palliative Care.
please click to go
to the page with the pdf files of the full texts of the plenary
lectures and the responses
The
Teaching Sessions were also a success and highly attended
by the audience. They were split into teaching sessions at
a basic and advanced level.
The
purpose of the teaching sessions at a basic level was to give
participants the opportunity to learn about key concepts in
palliative care, to explore basic knowledge, skills and attitudes
and to identify key issues in the literature. These sessions
were mainly aimed at those with basic or limited experience
in palliative care.
The
purpose of the teaching sessions at advanced level was to
introduce advanced aspects, controversies and developments,
to critique the related current evidence base, to discuss
advanced knowledge, skills and attitudes and to develop a
critical understanding of the relevant literature. These sessions
were mainly aimed at those working full-time in palliative
care.
In
specific time slots in the morning, Meet the Expert sessions
were organised for participants to meet, in small groups,
with professors and experts in palliative care from throughout
Europe and from overseas.
The
congress has offered the opportunity to the EAPC Collective
Members to organise National meetings focused on initiatives
and developments in their own countries. They have been held
in the native language. This initiative has been tested out
for the first time in the 8th EAPC Congress and considering
the success that these sessions have met, the initiative will
be repeated in the next congress to be held in Aachen in April
2005.
The
abstracts received by the participants have been submitted
to experts and professionals who have based their assessment
on ratings of:
*
Relevance to palliative care
* Clarity of presentation
* Rigour of methodology
*
Originality
The
highest rated abstracts have been selected for oral presentations
and put into bulks, by topic, and included in specific Free
Communication sessions.
Site
visits
The Local Organising Committee has offered the congress members
a unique chance to visit Dutch palliative care institutions
and see Dutch palliative care in practice. The delegates were
taken by bus to visit hospices, almost home houses, palliative
care units in homes for the elderly, nursing homes and hospitals.
The purpose of the Site Visits was:
- To
inform congress members about standards and developments
in palliative terminal care in the Netherlands.
- ∑To
offer a workshop on the spot about a special theme, offering
the unique possibility to exchange experiences between professionals
informally. The chosen theme was: How much palliative care
does a society need?
The
site visits were organised with the support of the Ministry
of Health Welfare and Sports.
Some interesting data:
One-thousand-five-hundred-sixty-nine (1569) participants have
attended the congress representing a large number of countries
and continents: Albania, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium,
Bosnia, Bulgaria, Brazil, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic,
Ecuador, Estonia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece,
Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia,
Lebanon, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Nigeria,
Norway, Pakistan, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Singapore,
Slovak Republic, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain,
Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, The Netherlands, Tunisia, Uganda,
UK, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, USA
Ninety-eight Speakers have been invited to share with the
participants their experience and knowledge acquired through
their activity in their countries of origin: all western European
countries plus USA, Israel, Russia, Uganda, Canada, Hungary.
The above data shows that the international reputation of
the EAPC Congresses has reached far beyond Europe and that
we are moving from a European congress to a World congress.
Five-hundred-and-thirty-one abstracts have been submitted.
The abstracts have been assessed and selected by experts and
professionals.
One-hundred-and-one abstracts have been selected for oral
presentations (showing the high quality of the papers submitted)
and included in specific free communication sessions.
Four-hundred-and-thirty have been selected for a poster presentation.
Chosen reviewers have assessed the posters and the three best
posters were awarded. The authors will receive a free registration
to the 9th Congress of the European Association for Palliative
Care that will be held in Aachen, Germany, on 6-10 April 2005.
Development
of palliative care in the Netherlands
In
the Netherlands, care of the terminally ill has attracted
a great deal of attention in recent years, both among government
bodies and institutions in the health care sector, as well
as social organisations. During the nineteen-eighties the
development of palliative care was initiated by social workers
who became acquainted with the work of Dame Cicely Saunders,
It led to the advent of a modest hospice movement in the Netherlands.
During the nineteen-eighties and the beginning of the nineties
the first almost-home-houses, independent hospices and specialised
palliative care units in nursing homes opened their doors.
The
establishment of these organisations created podiums for people
who were disturbed by medical-technical domination in the
care of terminally ill patients. A culture developed in which
dying was not regarded as the ultimate failure of the health
care sector, but as a normal phase of life. In 1996 the Dutch
Network of Palliative Care for Terminally Ill Patients or
“Netwerk Palliatieve Zorg voor Terminale Patiënten
Nederland” NPTN, was set up by the pioneers referred
to above. The objective of the NPTN is the stimulation and
development of palliative care for terminally ill patients
in the Netherlands.
Right from the outset the association also comprised a number
of member organisations from the regular health care sector.
This immediately created a podium for structural meetings
between the hospice world and regular care. During the nineteen-nineties,
the number of palliative care institutions rose rapidly. In
recent years some thirty palliative care consultation teams
have been set up to support general care givers.
At
the moment there are about 20 independent hospices, 30 almost
home houses, 3 children’s hospices, 45 specialised palliative
care units in nursing homes and 32 units at homes for the
elderly. 2 hospitals have a specialised palliative care unit.
A recent development is the establishment of 50 to 60 regional
networks for palliative care in the Netherlands. The state
stimulates this regional network formation by making money
available for appointing a network co-ordinator. In the ministry’s
vision the networks should establish links between the various
places where people die, and they should also ensure that
the care they offer is tailored to the requirements of patients
and next of kind.
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