Some weeks ago, Associate Professor Barbara Hayes facilitated an interactive session on Advance Care Planning (ACP) which addressed the interest and needs of the Serbian Community Association of Australia (SCAA) staff and members of the Board of Directors. A/Prof Hayes drew on her expertise in this area and discussed promotion of ACP in a multicultural community. .
A/Prof Hayes delivered her presentation in an easy-to-follow style, using everyday language, and examples from her wide experience of talking about advance care planning. The information provided helped the group understand how this topic can be communicated and its importance to the Serbian community. There were many questions raised during and after the presentation.
Ms. Nora Fernandes, the Community Engagement & Capacity Building Manager from Palliative Care Victoria also attended the session.
The ACP training session will enable staff involved in this project to prepare for the project, to raise awareness and start conversation about ACP in the Serbian and other CALD communities.
The Serbian organisation, SCAA, recently partnered with Palliative Care Victoria (PCV) to deliver an Advance Care Planning Conversations project in south-east Melbourne. The project aims to increase awareness about ACP, providing information through informal conversations with older people, their families, health care professionals and clinicians in the Serbian and other multicultural communities. It is expected that the project will empower the community to consider documenting preference for the type of care they would receive and the outcomes they would consider acceptable.
Photo (L-R): A/Prof Barbara Hayes, Marina Celebic (Manager SCAA), Nora Fernandes and SCAA Board Members: Primrose (Mira) White, Ljubica Petrov and Jelena Mandic.
This article was written by Marina Celebic, info@serbiancommunity.org.au