Introduction

1. Translating the Evidence: An Allied Health Hub in CareSearch Rawlings D and Tieman JJ Palliative & Supportive Services, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia Introduction Community palliative care can be complex with different disciplines contributing individually, or as part of a multidisciplinary team, to meet the needs of an individual patient. CareSearch has developed ‘hubs’ of information and resources that consolidate the knowledge base and practice issues¹ for specific professional groups. Here we describe the development of a Hub that recognises the integral role Allied Health plays in palliative care. Knowledge Translation Knowledge Translation is the translation of valid and relevant science into routine clinical practice². There are strategies that can be employed to address this via active processes of translation² and include: Change Leaders / ChampionsThe use of allied health professionals with an interest in palliative care as champions has helped to promote interest and engagement such as via existing special interest groups. The Advisory Group members have also fulfilled this role via advocacy, networking and promotion. Recognising Local ContextsKnowledge that is contextualised and relevant to the intended user is more likely to be accessed and used. The Hub provides palliative care information that is designed for allied health professionals. RemindersA monthly electronic ‘Project News’ has been disseminated since Dec 2012. There are almost 400people registered to receive it. EducationInformation has been provided in the project news not only to inform about CareSearch but also to highlight any relevant developments in the sectoror in the hub. End User EngagementEach page has been reviewed by allied health professionals working in the field. These reviewers are representative of end users and have helped to ensure that the content is current and useful Allied Health-Palliative Care Palliative care aims to provide holistic care that meets the needs of each individual patient and their family. Interdisciplinary palliative care teams comprising allied health personnel in addition to medical and nursing staff are seen as an essential component of comprehensive quality palliative care for all3. Allied health professionals can work with patients and carers from diagnosis to bereavement, train and support other team members, and assist in planning and providing care. Results The Hub comprises a targeted set of palliative care information to support allied health professionals. There has been increasing interest in the Hub, with substantial feedback on proposed content and resources from the sector. The Allied Health Hub will be launched at the Palliative Care Australia Conference in 2013. Project News to Newsletter Since December 2012 CareSearch has produced the ‘Project News’ update to elicit interest, feedback, ideas and contributions from the field about the development of the hub. This will become a bi-monthly newsletter following the launch of the hub, with the advisory group again informing and leading content development. Methods The CareSearch National Advisory Group (NAG) endorsed the development of an Allied Health Hub (AHH) in April 2012. The Allied Health Palliative Care Australia SIG met for the first time at the 2011 PCA Conference. Representatives from this group and the NAG representative from Allied Health Professions Australia completed a scoping activityin regards to the development of the AHH. A core element of the scoping was determining which professions would be included. This process resulted in six professions being proposed for inclusion in the AHH: Dietitians, Occupational Therapists, Physiotherapists, Psychologists, Social Workers and Speech Pathologists. Representatives from these six professions were then invited to form an Advisory Group. Their role was to support the page author in developing content (including webpages, resources and links) and to assist with the design, organisation and promotion of the Hub. These representatives were from the initial SIG or were elicited through their peak body. Both the commonality and variability of practice(eg, practice settings or private providers) within disciplines provided challenges when looking to content development. The Advisory Group initially reviewed the information within the existing hubs and its relevance to allied health. This has meant that some hub information could be made available by linking elsewhere in the website. Other pages have been developed in response to clearly identified needs which were not covered elsewhere on the website. Conclusion The Allied Health Hub recognises the role and involvement of Dietetics, Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, Psychology, Speech Pathology and Social Work to palliative care provision in Australia. The Allied Health Hub promotes their professional presence within palliative care, enabled through the vital support of peak bodies and the advocacy of champions. References: ¹Tieman JJ (2012) Filters and hubs: shortening the distance to palliative care evidence. Australian Journal of Primary Health, 2012, 18, 268–273 ²Scott I and Glasziou P (2012) Improving effectiveness of clinical medicine: the need for better translation of science into practice MJA197 (7) : 374-378 3PCA 2003 Palliative Care Service Provision in Australia: A Planning Guide Canberra Contacts The CareSearch website is freely available at: www.caresearch.com.au Those wishing to find out more can contact Deb Rawlings by emailing deborah.rawlings@flinders.edu.au