A symposium revealing the role of primary care professionals in palliative care

The ACCePPT (ACCcompagnemEnt Pluriprofessionnel PatienT) research unit at the Université Clermont-Auvergne focuses on primary care and palliative care. Within this laboratory, specialists in the humanities, drug sciences and palliative care are meeting around a research axis named "ACCOMPALLIA" to explore together the roles of professionals (pharmacist, psychologist and general practitioner) in supporting patients with serious, progressive or terminal illnesses at home. "Pharmacists-ne-s, for example, are generally unaware of practicing palliative care, even though they play an essential daily role of relational and therapeutic support", explains Axelle MANEVAL VAN LANDER, psychologist at Clermont-Ferrand University Hospital and teacher-researcher at the ACCePPT laboratory.

With her team, she took the initiative of organizing a colloquium on this relatively unexplored theme, and benefited for this from a financial aid for the organization of scientific events granted by the Plateforme nationale pour la recherche sur la fin de vie, with funds from the Caisse nationale de solidarité pour l'autonomie (CNSA)¹.

The ACCOMPALLIA symposium, held on November 8, 2024 at the Université Clermont-Auvergne, totaled (face-to-face and distance learning) nearly 180 participants-researchers from all disciplines, students and caregivers.

The day kicked off with a round-table discussion during which institutions and experts debated around the issue of interdisciplinarity and multi-professionality in research. "This made it possible to initiate a dynamic format for discussion and reflection, a spirit of openness that was maintained throughout the symposium" enthuses Axelle MANEVAL VAN LANDER. Flash presentations of theses followed this round table, before a session dedicated to studies on patient distress. This theme is of interest to ACCePPT researchers and many of the speakers, and collaborative projects have emerged from their encounters and exchanges.

During the lunch break, practical workshops enabled the public to get actively involved in research protocols carried by ACCOMPALLIA. These proposals were a great success, and each of the speakers was the subject of a video interview (see these interviews on the symposium's youtube channel). In the afternoon, a section dedicated to international research organized with the Fédération francophone internationale de soins palliatifs (FFISP) was also on the program, as well as a focus on ethical constraints.

Several scientific and convivial moments were organized to facilitate links. International speakers, for example, were given the opportunity to visit the palliative care unit at Clermont-Ferrand University Hospital and see for themselves the specific features of French palliative care. The general public was not left out, as an evening was devoted to them. Volunteers involved in palliative care and general practitioners attended a conference on end-of-life research.

View videos from the ACCOMPALIA conference

_{Published June 24, 2025}

1. The ACCOMPALLIA symposium was one of two winning projects in a call for applications launched by the Platform and CNSA in 2023, the other project being a contribution to the fifth pediatric palliative care meetings, see the article entitled Research workshops in pediatric palliative care on our website.