Lien Centre for Palliative Care

WELCOME TO

LIEN CENTRE FOR PALLIATIVE CARE

28 Aug 2024

LCPC-Assisi Palliative Care Course for Nurses (Aug - 2 days)

13 Sep 2024

Serious Illness Conversations Workshop (Sep, 1.5 days)

08 Oct 2024

Renal Supportive Care Course - Interprofessional (Oct)

Professional Certificate in Palliative Care for Social Workers (PCCSW)

A proud winner of the AMEI Golden Apple Award for Programme Excellence (2019), this Professional Certificate in the principles and practice of bio-psychosocial care for patients with serious illness(es) is designed especially for social workers across all settings. It aims to equip them with the necessary knowledge and skills to work with the seriously ill population and their families. An intensive learning experience is distilled from the collective practice wisdom of expert faculty to guide participants in navigating the complexities of palliative care. The programme is supported by the Singapore Association of Social Workers!

Serious Illness Conversations (SIC) Program

The Serious Illness Conversations (SIC) Program originated from Ariadne Labs, Boston and has shown to have positive impact on patients, clinicians, and healthcare utilization. The Lien Centre for Palliative Care is proud to adapt this program to local practice through education and research to facilitate more, earlier and better conversations so that care and treatment options are aligned to patients’ values and priorities. Our SIC workshop is developed by experienced interprofessional healthcare faculty and will equip you with the structure and language to converse with seriously ill patients. 2024 runs are now open for registration!

Learn more.

Renal Supportive Care Course (Interdisciplinary)

Introducing Singapore's first and only interprofessional Renal Supportive Care Course (RSC) which aims to increase healthcare professionals' confidence and competence in caring for patients with advanced Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD). It highlights the integral role each profession plays in the holistic care of these patients and their families. This popular course is taught by an interprofessional expert faculty from the Department of Renal Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Department of Pharmacy, Department of Social Work, Nursing from SGH and the Division of Supportive and Palliative Care, NCCS.

Use of physical restraints among older adults with dementia cared for at home

Using data from the PISCES cohort, this study seeks to understand use of physical restraints among older adults with severe dementia living at home. Nearly half (47%) of caregivers reported on older adults who had been subject to physical restraints. Feeding tube use was associated with increased odds of restraint use but is not recommended for adults with severe dementia, while strong emotional support from friends was protective against restraint use. Caregivers reporting other caregiving responsibilities were also more likely to report restraint use. This study brings new awareness to the ubiquity of restraint use and highlights the need for guidance and support for caregivers to reduce restraint use among adults with severe dementia.

Trajectories of negative and positive experiences of caregiving for older adults with severe dementia: application of group-based multi-trajectory modelling

Health practitioners working with family caregivers of older adults with severe dementia should be mindful of varying negative and positive caregiving experiences. Modifiable risk factors for trajectories involving negative experiences like more behavioural symptoms among older adults, co-residence, financial and emotional support to caregivers can be targeted in future interventions. Caregivers with “high positive, high negative” trajectory expressed greater grief and distress, and lower spiritual well-being and quality of life six months post the older adults’ death, making it important to continue to care for family caregivers even after their caregiving role ends.

Can timely outpatient visits reduce readmissions among heart failure patients?

Yes, finds a study using medical records of 276 patients with advanced heart failure in Singapore. Among heart-failure patients in the sample, roughly one-third of all-cause admissions are followed by all-cause adverse events (readmissions or mortality) within 30 days. The study finds that 1 in 4 all-cause adverse events may be prevented for those who receive outpatient follow-up within 14 days after discharge from an all-cause admission. However, not all patients benefit from an outpatient follow-up and it varies according to clinical complexity. While outpatient follow-up may not be necessary for low-risk patients, it may not be effective in reducing readmissions or mortality among high-risk patients. Results suggest the need to prioritize patients who benefit from outpatient follow-up for these visits.