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Background: A key aspect to the provision of palliative care is maintaining the dignity of the individual being cared for. Nurses working in the community setting need knowledge and skills to meet the needs of individuals who need palliative care and their families. Dignity Care Intervention Ireland is a community-based pilot project designed to implement a dignity care intervention for individuals with a life-limiting condition living in their own home. As part of the overall intervention, an education programme was developed for nurses working in the community. Method: Completion of a locally-designed questionnaire pre- and post-education. Results: Nurses working in the community setting welcomed and highly valued the Dignity Care Intervention Ireland education programme. There was an overall improvement in the understanding of palliative care for both groups and improved understanding of the principles of palliative care, with self-evaluated competence to apply these principles in daily clinical practice. Conclusion: The importance of education about palliative care to support the delivery of dignity-preserving care cannot be underestimated. Ensuring nurses have the requisite knowledge will enhance future practice development and subsequently improve care for patients with life-limiting conditions and their families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Meeting the information needs of entire community including patients, families, carers, health and social care professionals and researchers is important in a society where online resources are an increasing source of information. Providing this information digitally on one location will reduce the burden on individuals trying to navigate the internet and multiple sources of information, which may not be appropriate or relevant., Aim: To develop The Palliative Hub as a gateway for information, education and guidance regarding palliative care., Methods: Drawing on the skills and expertise of a range of stakeholders, working groups were established, which represented service users, carers, providers, charities and advocacy groups. The purpose of these groups was to assist with the design and development of the Palliative Hub, as sites to provide information, education and guidance about palliative care. The Palliative Hub, whilst providing information, also acts to filter and direct the user to the most relevant sources of further information., Results: It is anticipated that this resource will assist with meeting the palliative care information and education needs of the entire community in one place with key signposts to relevant sources and resources., Conclusion: The Palliative Hub has the potential to become an integral element in meeting the palliative care information and education needs of the entire community and is an example of an innovative and collaborative project across the island of Ireland, which could be translated across other jurisdictions., (© 2015, Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.)