Aim of the work
We launched a 3-year project which established evidence-based professional education programs for hospice and palliative care (HPC) to enhance the capability of healthcare providers( physicians, nurses, social workers, psychologists, pastoral care workers, long-term care workers), caregivers, volunteers and NGOs in Taiwan.

Design, methods and approach taken
The project adopted bio-psycho-social-spiritual (BPSS) model to develop HPC guidelines and training courses. It included 5 subprojects: 1) pediatric and geriatric care, 2) long-term care, 3) psycho-oncology care, 4) social care, and 5) spiritual care. Four societies and one university got the government grants to set up the professional education programs. For the first year (2017), they conducted focus groups, consensus meetings, workshops and specialist meetings and proposed the first year HPC guideline and training curriculum drafts. Each draft should be modified and tested by  on three trial sites at hospitals or long-term care settings. The finalized guideline and training curriculum (flipped classroom model) will be expected to spread to 92 cancer hospitals in this year (2019). For the spiritual care subproject, 20 NGOs have chosen to create compassionate communities in their own communities.
Results
We have 5 focus groups and hold 18 specialist meetings, 10 consensus meetings, and 36 workshops and finish the HPC guideline and training curriculum. We will launch evidence-based professional education programs with BPSS model for health workers and volunteers to provide better services to meet the patients’ needs in Taiwan.
 
Conclusion
HPC in Taiwan is no longer reserved for cancer patients, but also for patients with non-cancer. We will face a growing number of patients dying from non-cancer diseases. Apart from the professionals’ efforts in improving skills, we recognize capacity building is vital to holistic palliative care. We also recognize the feasibility of cooperation between different professionals.

Evidence-based Professional Education Programs for Hospice and Palliative Care in Taiwan