Poster Presentation Clinical Oncology Society of Australia Annual Scientific Meeting 2022

CarerHelp Diversity – resource development for diverse populations of end of life carers. (#429)

Di Saward 1 , Kristina Thomas 1 , Mark Boughey 1 , Jennifer Tieman 2
  1. Centre for Palliative Care, St Vincent's Hospital , Melbourne
  2. CareSearch - Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

Introduction

CarerHelp is an online resource (www.carerhelp.com.au) that was funded by a National Palliative Care Project grant. It provides information and resources to support Australians who are caring for someone at the end of life.

Aims

The aim of this project was to increase the reach and accessibility of CarerHelp by developing new resources that focus on the needs of specific populations of carers including -

  • Culturally and Linguistically Diverse communities
  • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
  • LGBTIQ+ communities
  • People who may rely on care from a support worker or paid carer including those with disabilities.

Methods

The approach included:

  1. A scoping study to appraise current resources for diverse carers and identify gaps
  2. Consultation with stakeholders who understand the needs of diverse carers including health professionals, organisations and cultural consultants
  3. Reviewing current CarerHelp resources to identify which resources to modify and what new resources would be created
  4. Working with a translation service
  5. Developing artwork and graphic design
  6. Case studies of diverse carers

Results

The scoping study identified many quality resources for diverse populations focusing on end of life care. However, there was limited content available in other languages, and gaps in resources for diverse populations of carers.

Community consultation revealed modifications were required to existing CarerHelp resources, such as changing terminology around death and dying, and including specific cultural practices around end of life care, burial and bereavement. Artwork and graphics were also important in ensuring acceptability for some diverse groups. New links to external websites for resources for diverse carers were also identified and included.

Conclusion

CarerHelp now includes a range of new and modified resources for diverse population groups, ensuring all Australians have access to trustworthy information delivered in an accessible format preparing them for their caring role.