Humanizing care: the integrated palliative approach (IPA) and the power of accompaniment

Colloquium organized as part of Acfas's 93rd "Sciences sans frontières" congress.

In a complex healthcare system marked by an aging population, the chronicization of illnesses and the fragmentation of care and services, the integrated palliative approach (IPA) is an essential clinical, ethical and human benchmark. It offers comprehensive, interdisciplinary care centered on partnership with the person and their loved ones, from diagnosis and throughout the care trajectory.

Although its benefits are recognized, including early symptom relief, care coordination and recognition of the psychosocial and spiritual needs of people and their loved ones, its integration remains limited. Several obstacles stand in its way: lack of training, insufficient interdisciplinary coordination, inequality of resources, erroneous social representations of palliative care, inadequacy with certain organizational contexts and legitimacy issues surrounding the relational approach and its interventions.

The relational approach, which values accompaniment and the bond of trust between cared-for people, their loved ones and caregivers, is a powerful lever for bringing IPA to life. It humanizes care, recognizes experiential knowledge and fosters collaboration. This relational dimension is often neglected in practice, due to a lack of benchmarks, documentation tools and methods in training and research.

This symposium proposes to open a space for scientific, experiential and interdisciplinary dialogue on these two related themes. It aims to reflect collectively on ways of integrating API into practices, training, care policies and research orientations. It is part of a drive to strengthen links between the academic, clinical and community milieus, consistent with the priorities of the Ministry of Health and Social Services for equitable access to quality palliative care, particularly through early identification and clinical and intersectoral coordination.

By bringing together players from the academic, clinical and community milieus, this symposium aims to strengthen partnerships, foster knowledge transfer and support the development of caregivers' relational skills. Together, we will explore how to combine API and relational approaches to sustainably transform practices and promote care based on dignity, respect and accompaniment.

For more information:
https://www.acfas.ca/evenements/congres/programme-preliminaire/enjeux-r…