Stress and self care in

palliative care
Mitheu Kilemi
Introduction
• Caring for terminally ill is sometimes stressing and
distressing
• The need for self-care is important to help the staff
working in Palliative units to deal with these
stresses
• Self-care is vital to building resilience and
preventing burnout.
• Research has shown that developing a personalized
self-care plan is an effective self-care strategy for
people involved in palliative care
Definition
• Self-care is ‘a proactive and holistic approach to
promoting personal health and wellbeing to
support social and professional roles’
• It is Respecting ones needs, self and who they are
• It is the intentional replenishment of your energy
sources
• It is the deliberate behaviors and actions taken to
look after yourself
Self-care
• Planning and practicing effective self-care strategies
can sustain your capacity to flourish and support
others, both personally and professionally is key
• It entails maintaining a range of personalized self-
care strategies within both professional and non-
professional contexts
• It is essential to manage barriers and enablers to
self-care practice
Self-care cont’
• When self-care is properly understood, it is
prioritized
• In the same way that the human heart must first
pump blood to itself, a person must take care of
their own health and wellbeing to sustain their
capacity to serve and/or care for others
SELF-CARE
What it is
Planning for self-care
• Developing a personalized self-care plan provides a
solid foundation for effective self-care.
• Self-care plans are an under-utilized resource for
healthcare professionals and other members of the
community outside of clinical contexts
• Planning for self-care can also help to achieve a
sense of work-life harmony
References
• Palliative care Australian Guidelines:
https://palliativecare.org.au/