Development of paediatric palliative care in Uganda

Development of paediatric palliative care in Uganda

Igulu Bandese N

Supportive Care in Cancer

2019

awareness; child; conference abstract; government; human; infant mortality; organization; palliative therapy; postgraduate student; respect; Uganda

Introduction Issues: Until recently, Paediatric Palliative Care in Uganda was ignored, with less than 5% of patients seen at Hospice Africa Uganda being Paediatric patients. African Palliative Care Association (APCA) and Palliative Care Association of Uganda (PCAU) are strongly advocating for Paediatric Palliative Care (PPC) at the national level. Methods Description: APCA and PCAU has been working closely with International Children's Palliative Care Network (ICPCN) to train health care professionals in Uganda. One major training has been conducted in Uganda since 1998, with over 56 health care professionals being trained and awarded diplomas for the first time in 2017 by Mildmay Uganda. It began as a certificate course in 2009, when Mildmay Uganda was selected to be one of the three organizations in Africa, to establish a Children's Palliative Care Training and Clinical Excellence Center in order to reduce infant mortality rates and give hope to children with life threatening illnesses. Results Lessons learned: These activities have resulted in awareness on the palliative care needs of children. As a result, there are now 5 government hospitals which have started PPC within their respectful institutions, while all government hospitals that have integrated palliative care have been encouraged to include children in their services Conclusions Recommendations: There are still many challenges which need to be addressed. These include integration of PPC in the pre and post graduates curricula for health care professionals; policies for PPC; setting up specific services for children; creating awareness on the need for PPC and demystifying the common myths about PPC.

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