Ms Tiffany Button1
1Palliative Care Victoria, East Melbourne, Australia
Biography:
Tiffany Button is a critical care nurse by background, currently working as an Aged Care Project Officer for Palliative Care Victoria. Over the course of her clinical career, she has pursued roles in clinical education, leadership and co-ordination before moving into the field of Public Health. She is an advocate for equitable access to high quality health care and exploring innovative strategies to future proof our health system.
Abstract:
Background:
In February 2024, the Dignified and Respectful Decisions (DARD) project was launched throughout Victoria. These resources provide guidance to family members supporting a person in aged care, when making decisions about medical treatment and end-of-life care. In this presentation we will discuss the development of these resources and the ongoing activities underway to imbed their use within aged care services across Victoria.
Method:
The DARD resources were developed following extensive consultation and review from people in the community with lived experience as well as health professionals from a variety of different clinical backgrounds. Following their release, copies of these resources were strategically distributed through different healthcare and community channels to optimise their reach across the state.
Outcomes:
The DARD project remains on track to achieve its ambition of becoming a staple resource across aged care services within Victoria. The relationships built with local governments, community groups, health services, media networks and peak bodies throughout these efforts have further perpetuated the resources uptake within the community and laid the foundation for ongoing development including additional content for different languages, cultures and community groups.
Discussion:
The DARD resources are a novel tool to support conversations within palliative care and aged care in multiple ways. Firstly, they acknowledge the complex psychosocial distress substitute decision makers can experience while supporting someone in aged care while also addressing the practical elements they need to undertake the role effectively. Second, they help staff translate the differences between palliative care support provided through an aged care service versus a community palliative care program. Lastly, they promote messages about establishing goals of care early, reviewing these decisions often and enabling people to make decisions that best reflect a person’s wishes and preferences, even when they have potentially lost the capacity to share them themselves.