Partner in focus: Dr Mark Boughey, CarerHelp

Partner in focus shines a spotlight on an Information Partner’s challenges, achievements and what they have learned in their efforts to deliver better health to Australians.

We spoke with Dr Mark Boughey, Palliative Care Consultant, Director of Palliative Care Services at St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne who explains CarerHelp’s vision, challenges and recent innovations.

What is the vision of CarerHelp?

Our vision at CarerHelp is to ensure everyday Australians have access to trustworthy information and resources to enable them to care for a seriously ill family member at the end of life. Most Australians want to be able to die at home, and for this to be possible, a family member or close friend needs to be available to provide 24-hour care. However, taking on this role for a dying family member can be challenging and requires new skills and knowledge.

CarerHelp is an online resource made up of factsheets, videos, and useful templates, which will guide and support families through caring for someone in those last months (and sometimes years) of life.

What are some of the challenges you face?

As a society we find it difficult to talk about and plan for death. So, one challenge is ensuring people have access to the information at the right time in order to prepare for an upcoming death. CarerHelp has put a lot of time into developing relationships with key organisations which may be an initial port of call for families, such as the healthdirect service.

CarerHelp has also developed a social media presence to draw people into the website. We have developed videos from experts to normalise taboo subjects such as what actually happens when a person dies, and what do you need to do when someone has died.

CarerHelp is separated into 5 pathways so carers can look at information that is right for them for their current caring situation. This prevents people being overwhelmed with facing some of the more distressing aspects before they need to. However, for those that do like to be prepared for what is coming next, they can jump ahead and get informed about caring for someone who is about to die.

Can you explain one of your organisation's recent innovations?

CarerHelp has recently developed tailored resources for diverse populations, as they generally have poorer access to health information and services. CarerHelp now has a ‘Communities’ section of the website which includes resources in nine languages, resources for First Nations families, resources for LGBTIQA+ communities, and resources to guide support workers who may be involved in caring (as part of their work role) for someone at the end of life.

We are promoting all of the CarerHelp resources with health services as they are easy to download, print and use with families as part of busy clinical practice. There are also bundles of resources called ‘Carer Kits’ for different stages of caring.

Health professionals may find this a convenient way to ensure they are supporting families during busy clinical consultations.

What is it about the partnership with Healthdirect Australia that is most valuable to you?

Healthdirect has a large network of partners and is well known and trusted by the Australian community. Our partnership with Healthdirect gives us a unique platform to promote CarerHelp and connect ordinary Australians with information and resources about end of life caring. Healthdirect has been involved in our National Reference Group as a key stakeholder and we are grateful for their continued support.