Grant: Planning Grants - PA: Health Services and Systems for an Aging Population

Palliative care programs in long-term care facilities are slowly being developed across Ontario and Canada on an ad-hoc basis. Many long-term care facilities do not yet include palliative care programs in their homes, and, among the homes that do, the success or value of these programs is yet to be determined. The purpose of the proposed meeting is to gather experts in the field of long-term care (i.e., clinicians, researchers, and family members) to examine the role, scope, and need for palliative care in long-term care facilities. Information about current programs and practices that already exist will be gathered from academic journals and magazines, as well as from long-term care facilities across Canada. The estimated need for palliative care in Ontario long-term care homes will be determined using the Canadian Institute of Health Information's Continuing Care Reporting System database. This database includes information on the health and well-being of all long-term care home residents in Ontario. The outcome of this planning meeting is to generate a CIHR operating grant proposal to develop a standardized palliative care program that can be easily adopted by any long-term care facility. The ideal program will incorporate resident-centred care that uses a collaborative process involving all levels of the residents' support systems. It also includes the use of already mandated health measures (RAI 2.0) to identify long-term care residents who may benefit from palliative care. As the Canadian population continues to age, the impetus to remain at home as long as possible (Aging at Home Strategy inclueds long-term care facilities) will become an increasingly important part of a sustainable health care system. The need to adopt standardized palliative care principles and practices in long-term care has never been more necessary.