Asia Pacific Hospice Palliative Care Conference 2023 - Report by Yeoh Pheng Loo

I was encouraged to do a poster presentation by our hospice doctor for the Asia Pacific Hospice Conference (APHC). I feel more empowered and gain more knowledge after participating in this poster presentation and in the conference. The theme of the conference is ‘Expanding Horizons of Palliative Care in the New Era’ and the title of my poster presentation is ‘Incorporating Australian PCOC Into An App By A Small Group Community Hospice To Improve Service Delivery’.

APHC 2023 took place at Songdo Convensia, Incheon , Korea from the 4th-7th October 2023. About 1,280 people participated in the conference and there were 50 sessions including Keynote address, 11 Plenary talks, 54 Concurrent talks, 8 workshops. There were more than 480 abstracts presentations for oral and posters. It started with pre conference workshops on the 4th October 2023 then followed by 3 days workshops and presentations. The speakers from different countries shared their knowledge, expertise, tips and pandemic experiences during the conference. I had opportunities to interact with other participants from other hospices to share our knowledge and experiences.

There was also a Gala Dinner and informal social interaction time during the conference with other hospice & palliative care professionals and volunteers from various parts of the world.

APHC provided a program to visit selected hospice institutions in Korea. It was held on the 6th October 2023 that involved four institutions. In honor of World Hospice & Palliative Care Day (WHPCD), a morning walk program was arranged. I participated in the stroll through Incheon Songdo Central Park where our guides took us along a very pleasant route. Participants took photos together at Songdo Hanok Village.

Overall I gained a lot of knowledge about Palliative Care and also heard how far palliative care has expanded to various parts of the world in this conference. I would like to take this opportunity to thank MHPCC for selecting me to be the grant recipient and giving me the opportunity to attend the conference.