In 2019, The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that 7 out of 10 leading causes of death were noncommunicable diseases. Every year, it is estimated that 56.8 million people with chronic-progressive diseases require palliative care. Palliative care is a comprehensive approach to optimize the patients’ well-being suffering from severe illnesses, chronic illnesses, or terminal illnesses such as cancer, stroke, HIV/AIDS, and congenital disabilities.
Palliative care actors, such as health workers, are at the forefront of providing physical, emotional, and social support to palliative patients. To provide particular understanding and skills for nurses of palliative patients, the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Faculty of Medicine, the University of Indonesia (UI) – Dr. Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital collaborates with the Jakarta Health Service in carrying out community service, that is counseling and training for palliative care practitioners.
UI also launched the “Caregiver’s Pocket Book for Palliative Care” which is helpful for caregivers to understand and face challenges when caring for palliative patients. This book, prepared by teaching staff and participants in the UI Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Specialist Education Program, provides knowledge related to deconditioning syndrome, mobilizing patients with movement disorders, stretching exercises, feeding palliative patients, handling choking, and assessing Activities of Daily Living (ADL) Barthel Index.
Prof. Dr. dr. Widjajalaksmi Kusumaningsih, Sp.K.F.R., N.M.(K), Professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation program, said, “Along with the development of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, we realize the importance of a holistic and humane approach to patients who face disease conditions, which is difficult to cure. Therefore, this book aims to provide treatment guidance and secure emotional, spiritual, and psychosocial relationships between patients, families, caregivers, and the medical team.”
The book’s launch on December 14 was the conclusion of a series of community service programs that have been implemented since July 2022. Faculty of Medicine UI and the Jakarta Provincial Health Service have been actively providing provision and education about community-based palliative care rehabilitation services to health workers at Community Health Centers in Jakarta. It focuses on long-term care for palliative patients, including prevention, early identification, and appropriate physical, psychosocial, and spiritual treatment for patients and their families.
Community service activities were carried out by 25 doctors, including teaching staff and students from the UI Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Specialist Doctoral Education study program. Health workers are trained to carry out assessments on the Zarith Burden scale, assessment of patient independence, assessment of patients’ well-being using the Euro Quality of Life (EQ5D) questionnaire, and palliative care in general. Furthermore, there is a home visit to evaluate the patient’s well-being after treatment.
Training will be conducted in April and May 2023 at the Petamburan Grogol Community Health Center and in September and October 2023 at the Tebet Community Health Center. The Head of the Jakarta Provincial Health Service, drg. Ani Ruspitawati, M.M said, “The West Jakarta (Grogol Petamburan) and South Jakarta (Tebet) areas were chosen as locations for Community-Based Rehabilitation (CBR) training related to palliative care because Jakarta has been implementing CBR activities since 2021. The two Community Health Centers have implemented a collaboration for a palliative service program with the workers throughout 2023.”
We hope the UI community service program can provide a better quality of life for patients who need palliative care at home, and the book’s launch can be a valuable instrument to support the knowledge and skills of health workers at the Jakarta Community Health Center to provide practical guidance that is easy to access. Besides the book’s launch, the UI service team also publishes research in international journals and makes educational videos to help enhance the standards of palliative care.
