Project Hamrahi  

Ten year review

As mentioned in our June 2020 newsletter, we have decided to use the imposed travel down-time to conduct an evaluation of Project Hamrahi. This is timely after ten years of operation with no formal evaluation to date. 

The Indian palliative care landscape has changed dramatically during those ten years, with expansion of services, passing of the NDPS amendment to simplify opioid availability, enhanced education including through Project ECHO, a virtual learning and clinical care platform, nationwide palliative care quality improvement projects, greater awareness of palliative care among the medical professions and incorporation of core competencies into undergraduate education (attitudes, ethics and communication). These changes naturally require an examination of the benefits possible through Project Hamrahi. 

A core project team has been formed, consisting of Odette Spruijt (Principal Investigator), Rachel Coghlan and Anil Tandon. After considering various grant funding bodies, we decided to fund the review from APLI itself. We were fortunate in appointing Archana Ganesh as research assistant. Archana holds a business degree, has worked in palliative care management in Bengaluru and is currently a PHD at Manipal University, India. 

The purpose of the evaluation is to assess the learnings of the Project to date, from the perspective of Australian and New Zealand mentors and Indian mentees. Using these learnings will help guide and shape the future of the Project, including the next strategic plan.

The proposal was submitted to the Western Health Ethics Committee in August and unconditional approval was received this month. Surveys have now been sent to mentors, mentees and Pallium India’s Project Officers via a Survey Monkey email. 

If you have received this email, we encourage you to complete the survey. Thank you for your support.