Three speakers presented on current studies concerning palliative care in care homes:

Professor Deborah Parker (Sydney, Australia): 
Advance care planning and palliative care: Impact of a national Australian program in long term care 
The presentation covered the evaluation of the implementation of ‘Decision Assist’, providing advance care planning and palliative care support for GPs and aged care facilities across Australia. The intervention took the form of educational materials and a telephone help line.

Professor Kevin Brazil (Belfast, UK): 
Promoting Informed Decision Making and Effective Communication through advance care planning for people living with dementia
The findings of a trial to evaluate an advance care planning intervention for family members of people with dementia living in nursing homes was presented.  Family members benefited from this facilitated advance care planning discussion.

Dr Sharon Kaasalainen (Hamilton, Canada):  
The Namaste Care Program for Residents with Advanced  Dementia in Canadian Long Term Care settings 
A feasibility trial being undertaken to develop the multi-sensory care intervention for people with advanced dementia (known as Namaste Care) was described. The elements of the programme include meaningful activities and different sensory input. Initial perceptions of staff and family members in 2 facilities about the intervention have identified a number of challenges to providing the programme alongside possible facilitators of implementation.

We were also joined by Professor Julienne Meyer who is the Executive Director of My Home Life Programme (MHL), a UK-wide initiative to promote quality of life for those living, dying, visiting and working in care homes for older people.

This seminar aimed to present current international care home research with respect to palliative care for older people. Following the presentations there was an opportunity for discussion and at the end of the day the role of research in care homes was further considered. 

There were 30 attendees from a range of backgrounds: managers and care home staff from care homes, staff working in hospices, PhD students and academics.  

Feedback at the end of the day was positive and all participants identified their own learning from the day. 

The presentations are available by contacting Katherine Froggatt at k.froggatt@lancaster.ac.uk.