Improving qualification and competencies of palliative and end-life caregivers on EU level through ECVET outcomes based comparative competence framework, ECVET learning repository portal and self-assessment competence tool

Project summary

PURPOSE & NEEDS: Palliative care is an approach that improves the quality of life of patients with life-threatening & chronic illnesses: cancer, severe cardiac & pulmonary diseases, Alzheimer, Parkinson etc. During the past decade there are serious evidence (refer. EU association for palliative care, annual reports) to the substantial increasing number of people suffering from terminal/severe immobility conditions which creates the social need for extensive, complex and quality service provision. This situation poses a heavy social and economic burden for family members who are often becoming non-formal caregivers. The palliative and end-life care is providing by personnel at hospices, hospitals, elderly care centers - nurses, healthcare assistants, social workers etc. who are frequently discovering obstacles in terms of opportunities for up to date knowledge from one side and from other side there is a prevalence rate of those who are moving to work in another EU country where they discovered competences mismatch (resource: Skills mismatch in Europe, International Labour Organisation, Geneva 2014). The shortages of accessible VET training guided our consortium to the need to develop a self-assessment tool that will capture competences gaps identified via comparison of competence frameworks in EU. It will contribute to the national VET systems for palliative & end-life care providers according to the EQF level 3 & 4 (defer to countries). Based on discovered palliative competences gaps this consortium will provide a learning repository with up to date learning resources which will be available for free of charge accompanied by learning outcomes aligned to ECVET. TARGET GROUPS: a) as LEARNERS: palliative and end-life nurses, carers, social workers, health care professionals etc. b) as TRAINERS: VET trainers and educators, in-house trainers, coordinators/managers of palliative and end-life care providers; BENEFICIARIES from the improved services: people with terminal and severe immobility diseases, their families, NGOs/Unions of people with disabilities and elderly people, policy makers in the field of health care, social care and quality assurance in VET. INTELLECTUAL OUTPUTS: The following intellectual outputs will be developed, iterative tested, piloted, optimised and exploited into practice: IO1: Manual on Palliative Care Competences Framework in Europe by using the tuning method IO2: PTCare competences assessment tool IO3: PTCare learning resources repository for further VET training of palliative and end-life caregivers IO4: PTCare service awareness video on palliative care provision IO5: PTCare interactive learning portal The outputs will be available in EN, BG, LT, GR, HU, NL and TR languages. CONSORTIUM: The project consortium consists of 7 partners from 6 countries: P1: The coordinator Zlatograd Municipality which is monitoring and in the most cases funding care-giving service provision in one of the disadvantaged areas in Bulgaria where the number of people who need palliative care services is really high; P2: MCA - a leading NGO in Smolyan region who is involved in direct training of non-formal caregivers and on supporting elderly and disabled people to improve their quality of life; P3: SDMC (LT) coordinates service for training and social inclusion of vulnerable groups with regards to residential homes for palliative and end-life care; P4: Trisys (CY) is a training leading body for formal and non-formal (family members) caregivers in Cyprus; P5: PBHA (HU) Hospice Foundation is providing a Palliative and End-life care services as well as responsible for the quality assurance of those services in Pecs; P6: PhoenixKM (BE) is a dynamic consultancy and training organisation with expertise in carer training provision to personal assistants/carers of people with disabilities/elderly. P7: REDVET (TR) is an agency dealing with competence profiling of caregivers to disadvantaged and disabled people, women and marginal groups; EXPECTED IMPACT: - ON PARTICIPATING ORGANISATIONS is that the project results enables them to enhance and widen their policies and core activities. It also generates improved knowledge and network links resulting in improved outcomes in their organizational culture. - ON IMPROVED COMPETENCES OF PALLIATIVE CARE PROFESSIONALS for the first time in Europe (not existing in EU professional card) a comparative competence framework which will identify the competences mismatch and will further establish training pathways for additional qualitative training provision offered by specific learning repository based on the ECVET learning outcomes metadata. - ON CARE PROVISION TO BENEFICIARIES AND THEIR FAMILIES is that the project will train and assess the competences of the professionals who are providing palliative care services to people with severe health conditions and will decrease the burden to their families.