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Objectives
The objectives of the The Palliative Care in Central and Eastern Europe and Former Soviet Union Countries Monthly Email Newsletter are to communicate the activities, diversity, challenges and progress being made in palliative care development, to foster networking, communication in Central and Eastern Europe and Former Soviet Union, and also to inform those throughout the world about the regional effort. One of the main aims of the Newsletter is to promote the Eastern-European palliative development and to affirm their collaboration and participation in Europe.
Members of the group in 2006
1. Dr. Katalin Hegedus, Hungarian Hospice-Palliative Association, editor-in-chief
2. Ágnes Zana, Hungarian Hospice-Palliative Association, editor (from September 2005)
3. Csilla Raduch, Semmelweis University, English lector (from January 2006)
4. Dr.Elena Vvedenskaya, Russia, translator
5. Gergely Alpár, AmegA Team, IT technician
Project summary
1. Identity
The purpose was to create an individual, high standard and creative identity for the Newsletter with the help of the Interactive Communicating Software of the AmegA team. The short list of modules of the Hungarian Hospice-Palliative Association uses: basic module (customized editor, newsletter sending engine, private archive); partner database with grouping; subscription, un-subscription; background website with archive; statistics; printer-friendly version; helpdesk.
We wanted to increase the influence of the EAPC in the region using the EAPC website as background. The 10th Congress of the European Association for Palliative Care is to be held in Budapest between 6-9 June 2007 and further developing the Newsletter helps us promote the Congress in the region too.
2. Country reports
The 20 issues of the Newsletter released so far introduced the country report of 14 countries: Ukraine, Romania, Lithuania, Hungary, Mongolia, Slovenia, Poland, Serbia, Macedonia, Croatia, Bulgaria, Albania, Czech Republic, Moldova, reflecting the cultural diversity, regional characteristics, and the efforts made in the field of palliative care even though very often professionals have had to work in very difficult circumstances. The country reports show us progress in palliative care policy development, advocacy for palliative care, activities on educating the public, education/training opportunities in the region, hospice and palliative care practice, drug availability etc.
Now these reports are the most recent views about the Eastern European and Former Soviet Union situation in palliative care all over the world!
3. Key people
We have found Eastern-European key-personalities in every country who help us to publish news in the Newsletter: Dr Elena Vvedenskaya, Russia; Dr Natasa Milicevic, Serbia; Dr Daniela Mosoiu, Romania; Dr Avyrdas Seskevicius, Lithuania; Dr Urska Lunder, Slovenia; Dr. Odontuya Davaasuren, Mongolia; Dr Nikolay Yordanov and Dr Penka Kolchakova, Bulgaria; Dr Anica Jusic, Croatia; Dr Mirjana Adzic, Macedonia; Dr Albert Leka, Albania; Martina Spinková, Czeh Republic; Alexander Wolf, Ukraine; Elena Stenpovscaia, Moldova; Dr Gvamichava Rema, Georgia; Professor Jacek Luczak and Rev Piotr Krakowiak, Poland etc.
We involved Western-European and US consultants such as David Clark, Michael Wright, Carl Johan Fürst, Sylvia Sauter, Avril Jackson, Heidi Blumhuber, Amelia Giordano, Mary Callaway, Liliana de Lima.
4. Model programs
We regularly published reports about the model-programs of a region or city such as: Hospice Gdansk in Poland, Arzamas Hospice in Russia, the Tbilisi model in Georgia, Palliative Care Hospice Society in Moldova, Chinese Association for Life Care; various educational models in Lithuania, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic or Latvia; changes brought about by drug access law in Romania, National Cancer Control Program in Hungary; twinning programs including Lithuania and Hungary or Russia and Latvia. We published interviews on the Czech results and on the main intention of Palliative Care in Cancer - OSI seminar.
5. Congresses, events, grants
We reported on important international and national congresses (Poland, Hungary, Russia, Bulgaria etc), on the results of European congresses and events (Strasbourg, Aachen, Belgrade, Venice); and published the summaries and declarations of different congresses (Seoul, Belgrade, Venice). We regularly reported on various events (e.g. World Hospice and Palliative Care Day) and on grant opportunities for Eastern-Europeans. With the help of the EAPC we offered inexpensive accommodation at the Scientific Forum in Venice in 2006 and we also delineated how to gain free access to older issues of palliative care journals. We also introduced the new EAPC programs (e.g. European Task Force), the ECEPT.
6. Debate
We started a debate on why the ratio of Eastern-European experts is so low at European palliative congresses. The debate went on with a pronounced activity: besides the remarks of the Eastern-European participants we received comments from the EAPC Head Office and from the chair of the organizing committee of the 9th EAPC Congress in Aachen.
With publishing grants and information we would like to increase the number of Eastern European specialists for the 10th EAPC Congress in Budapest, in 2007.
7. Columns
The permanent columns of the Newsletter are: Further links and Standards available, collecting 56 useful links and 20 standards in Palliative care.
By using these links the readers can download the "Recommendation Rec 24 (2003) of the Committee of Ministers to member states on the organization of palliative care" in 18 languages.
8. Languages
The Newsletter is published in English and in Russian languages. The issues are distributed to almost 600 e-mail addresses. The English version of the Newsletter has an average 600-1200 readers per month, and the Russian version about 60-120 readers respectively. We are working on making the Newsletter available in Hungarian as well.
9. Promotion of the Newsletter
We promoted the Newsletter during the 2th Global Summit of the National Hospice and Palliative Associations (Seoul, March 2005); 9th Congress of the EAPC (Aachen, April 2005); Palliative Care in Cancer meeting, OSI (Budapest, September 2005); Research Forum (Venice, May, 2006); NGO Conference (Moscow, September 2006) with leaflets, poster and slides.
The Newsletter became one of the taskforces of the European Association for Palliative Care, continuing the work of the EAPC East.
The Hospice Information Centre at St Christopher's Hospice and the Help the Hospices is setting up a palliative care resource centre for professionals in developing and transitional countries that may carry out working with English as a second language. Resource would be made available for translation into other languages.
3 electronic newsletters are invited to this project:
• Hospice & Palliative Care News – monthly published by International Association for Hospice and Palliative Care (IAHPC).
• Worldwide Hospice and Palliative Care Online – bi-monthly signposting resource published by Hospice Information
• CEE & FSU Palliative Care Monthly Email Newsletter – monthly published by Hungarian Hospice-Palliative Association.
You can read our previous issues as well at the following web-sites: www.hospice.hu/newsletter and eapcnet.org/CeeFsuNlt/index.html
Responsible and organization of project
Responsible for project
Dr. Katalin Hegedus
President of the Hungarian Hospice-Palliative Association
e-mail:
Organization
Hungarian Hospice-Palliative Association
Orczy ut 6, 1089 Budapest, Hungary
e-mail:
www.hospice.hu
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