Project profile — Capacity Building for Home Based Palliative Care

The project builds the capacity of the Hospice and Palliative Care Association of South Africa (HPCA) to provide home based palliative care to persons infected with HIV/AIDS. The project supports a holistic and comprehensive approach to the care, treatment and support to those infected and affected by HIV/AIDS and contributes to improving the quality and reach of palliative care, particularly in underserved communities and rural areas. It enhances and expands the provision of sustainable care to persons living with HIV/AIDS and their families in South Africa and contributes to the reduction of the impact of AIDS on girls, boys, women and men in South Africa. Expected outcomes include: (1) Increased organizational capacity within HPCA and its member hospices; (2) Increased capacity of HPCA member hospices to deliver quality home-based palliative care in a gender-sensitive manner, particularly in rural and peri-urban areas; and (3) Increased collaboration with the formal health care sector.

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Results achieved as of the end of the project (March 2011) include: More than 100,000 patients, including many children and youth, have received care from participating hospices with improved co-ordination of home care programmes delivered to HIV/AIDS patients and their families. The project provided palliative care training to an increased number of professional nurses at primary health care clinics (over 150 since the beginning of the project). It also increased supervision of and training for 300 community caregivers. The project also developed over 200 strong networking partnerships with primary health care clinics to promote access to palliative care. In addition, ten agreements between hospices and primary health clinics have been signed, resulting in an increase of referrals to these hospices, and an increased focus on gender-related aspects of organizational management and care delivery.