The Aula Magna on the Barcelona Campus recently hosted the latest edition of the workshop promoted by the WeCare Chair, entitled “Developments and Challenges in Palliative Care: Innovation and Results”, which brought together professionals from different disciplines involved in palliative care with the aim of sharing recent developments and practical tools in this field.
One of the highlights of the event was the presentation by Everlien de Graaf, a researcher at UMC Utrecht, who addressed the challenges of palliative care in patients with advanced heart failure. During her lecture, entitled “Towards a European Model of Palliative Care in Advanced Heart Failure”, the expert noted that “the advanced stage is less evident than in other diseases, which is why it is important to introduce early multidisciplinary care that includes palliative care.”
In this regard, de Graaf underscored the importance of ensuring coordination among different health and social care disciplines – such as medicine, nursing, psychology and social work – to help both patients and their families understand the progression of the disease, anticipate potential complications and design a care plan tailored to their needs.
The researcher also leads the European project RAPHAEL, an international initiative focused on improving palliative care for people with advanced heart failure, in which researchers from the WeCare Chair at UIC Barcelona are also involved.
During the event’s opening address, the director of the WeCare Chair, Cristina Monforte, explained that the Chair’s goal is “to contribute applied clinical knowledge that improves patient care and quality of life.”
Throughout the session, experts from various health and academic institutions addressed key issues related to palliative care through different round table discussions and presentations focused on innovation and the human dimension of this type of care. Topics discussed included the clinical integration of palliative care in advanced heart failure, the challenges of providing emotional and existential support, communication about death, the use of film as a therapeutic tool, spirituality and forgiveness, clinical simulation applied to training and perinatal palliative care.
The workshop also featured professionals from institutions such as Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, PADES Mutuam, SECPAL, Cuides UIC Barcelona Clinic and Hospital Sant Joan de Déu, among others.
The event, which concluded with a discussion session between speakers and attendees, has once again established itself as a key forum for professionals, educators and researchers in palliative care, with the aim of advancing towards more integrated, coordinated and person-centred models of palliative care.
