Palliative Care - LGBTIQ+ Health Australia

Palliative Care

LGBTIQ+ Inclusive Palliative Care eLearning

This FREE eLearning aims to increase healthcare providers’ confidence in providing LGBTIQ+ inclusive palliative care including:

  • Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ+) communities and their specific healthcare needs
  • End-of-life concerns and barriers to palliative care for LGBTIQ+ people
  • How to have inclusive end-of-life conversations
  • Strategies to support loved ones
  • How to create welcoming and inclusive environments

The eLearning topics are explored across four 1-hour modules:

Module 1: Introduction to LGBTIQ+ communities

Module 2: Barriers to providing and receiving palliative care

Module 3: Enablers for LGBTIQ+ people in palliative care

Module 4: Having end-of-life planning conversations

Access e-Learning

RACGP logoLHA would like to acknowledge those who have generously provided their time, expertise and lived experience to the development of this project through the advisory committee and co-design group. Special thanks to Dr Ruth McNair (RACGP sponsor), Cody Smith (Yellow Tick), BLaQ Aboriginal Corporation, National Association of People with HIV Australia, and Australian Centre for Health Law Research, Queensland University of Technology.

What is Palliative Care?

Palliative care includes treatment care and support which aims to increase a person’s quality of life and comfort as they experience life-limiting or advanced disease. This involves attention to the physical, psychological, social and spiritual aspects of a person’s wellbeing. 

LGBTIQ+ people and Palliative Care

All LGBTIQ+ people should feel confident that they can access inclusive palliative care that is safe and respectful. The current research indicates that there are many barriers that prevent this and LGBTIQ+ Health Australia is calling on the palliative care workforce to ‘Be part of the solution'.

‘Be part of the solution’ animations

LGBTIQ+ Health Australia asked three LGBTIQ+ workers about the importance of inclusive palliative care including a GP, palliative care nurse and funeral celebrant. Watch the animations below to hear what they have to say about the barriers and enablers to LGBTIQ+ inclusive palliative care, and the importance of inclusive end-of-life care.

Barriers LGBTIQ+ people face in accessing palliative care

Enablers to providing palliative care to LGBTIQ+ people

Importance of LGBTIQ+ inclusive palliative care

Scoping Review

LGBTIQ+ Health Australia has reviewed the literature on palliative and end-of-life care for LGBTIQ+ communities from 2016-2020. This scoping review highlights the barriers faced by LGBTIQ+ people, the facilitating factors that aim to address these barriers, and a focus on what to include in future education and training. The review also highlights areas that require more research and exploration.

Help promote our eLearning

Download the following ‘Be part of the solution’ resources to promote the LGBTIQ+ Inclusive Palliative Care eLearning:

A national palliative care survey* of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ+) people found that...94% of respondents were concerned that some institutional healthcare settings are not inclusive or supportive of LGBTIQ+ people. 55% of respondents were concerned they would encounter discrimination by health professionals in relation to being LGBTIQ+.


Resources:

LGBTIQ+ People still can’t rely on inclusive palliative care services

Despite the many gains that have been made towards LGBTIQ+ equality, health care services are still not always safe spaces for people from LGBTIQ+ communities.

Read more June 09, 2021 10:24 AM



LGBTIQ+ Health Australia Logo
Facebook logo Twitter logo YouTube logo

ABOUT LGBTIQ+ Health Australia
LGBTIQ+ Health Australia, (formerly the National LGBTI Health Alliance), is the national peak health organisation in Australia for organisations and individuals that provide health-related programs, services and research focused on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer people and other sexuality, gender and bodily diverse (LGBTIQ+) people and communities. Dropping the “+” from our name only occurs within digital formats that do not allow mathematical symbols, such as within our domain name, handles and hashtags.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY
LGBTIQ+ Health Australia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of country throughout Australia, their diversity, histories and knowledge and their continuing connections to land and community. We pay our respects to all Australian Indigenous Peoples and their cultures, and to Elders of past and present.