11. Small but potent acts of compassion with Rachel Coghlan and Jules Frost

Melissa and Jules Frost talk with Rachel Coghlan about what humanitarians can learn from palliative care.

Palliative care improves the quality of life of patients and their families who face problems associated with life-threatening illness. Like the topic of mental illness, the subject of death and dying can be difficult to discuss. Compassion is a common theme that comes up in both domains. 

This conversation highlights small but potent acts of compassion that can be carried out in difficult circumstances, like giving genuine attention, empathic listening, bearing witness and offering a smile. It reflects on the duty of care -- not only self-care but also institutional support for people doing difficult work and supportive conversations between peers. It explores the concepts and benefits of working with dignity, humility and compassion.

Rachel Coghlan is a public health professional with 20 years experience in clinical practice, and in international public health research, policy and advocacy. She is currently undertaking a Doctor of Philosophy at the Centre for Humanitarian Leadership, Deakin University. Her research is exploring the place of palliative care in humanitarian emergencies and crises, with a focus on armed conflict settings. She is also a palliative care physiotherapist at Calvary Health Care Bethlehem in Melbourne and a researcher with Palliative Nexus at the University of Melbourne. 

Jules Frost is the Head of Programmes and Partnerships at the CHS Alliance. She has 25 years of experience across the globe. At the CHS Alliance she oversees programme development and management, partnership building, and fundraising efforts in support of Accountability to Affected People (AAP), Prevention of Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Harassment (PSEAH), and People Management. Before joining the CHS Alliance, Jules was Medair’s International Director and before that she had an extensive career at World Vision. 

To learn more, 

·       Watch the Sphere webinar on “Palliative care and COVID-19: Challenges for the humanitarian sector” held on 28 October 2020 in partnership with the CHS Alliance, H2H Network and UKaid.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kY_v3kIpdoc

·       Read Rachel’s blog in the ICRC’s Humanitarian Law and Policy called “Palliative care, COVID-19 and humanitarian action: it’s time to talk” dated 2 July 2020: https://blogs.icrc.org/law-and-policy/2020/07/02/palliative-care-covid-19/

·       Read Rachel’s September 2019 paper for the Centre for Humanitarian Leadership, “Palliative care in humanitarian crises: innovation or radical reclaiming of roots” https://centreforhumanitarianleadership.org/research/publications/palliative-care-in-humanitarian-crises-innovation-or-radical-reclaiming-of-roots/