Palliative Care Coalition of Canada (PCCC)

Pallium Canada serves as the Secretariat for the Palliative Care Coalition of Canada (PCCC), formerly known as the Quality End-of-Life Care Coalition of Canada (QELCCC). The PCCC is a group of over 30 national organizations dedicated to improving palliative care for everyone in Canada.

The Palliative Care Coalition of Canada believes that everyone in Canada has the right to quality palliative care that allows them to die with dignity, free of pain, surrounded by their loved ones, in a setting of their choice.

To achieve quality palliative care for everyone in Canada, the PCCC advocates for a well-funded, sustainable national strategy for palliative care. It is the mission of the Palliative Care Coalition of Canada to work together in partnership to achieve this goal.

For any questions regarding the PCCC, please contact pccc@pallium.ca.

Blueprint for Action

Over the past 20 years, 30+ national organizations that are members of the Palliative Care Coalition of Canada have worked together to improve palliative care for everyone in Canada. Their goals are to improve access to care, increase the number of professionals and volunteers with the skills to provide high quality palliative care, promote research that would improve care, support the family members who care for people who are dying, and educate Canadians about their choices at end of life.

In 2010, the Palliative Care Coalition of Canada (PCCC), formerly known as the Quality End of Life Coalition of Canada (QELCCC), released the Blueprint for Action 2010-2020 which identified priority areas and recommendations for the last 10 years. Moving forward, the Coalition produced the Blueprint for Action 2020-2025 to continue to improve quality palliative care and access for everyone in Canada and provide a summary of progress made, current knowledge, and addresses ongoing issues and gaps in the field.

Member Initiatives

We are excited to showcase the collective efforts and initiatives of our coalition members that have shaped the landscape of palliative care across the country in 2023. From innovative health care solutions to community outreach programs, each initiative reflects our shared commitment to advancing the quality of palliative care in Canada.

Advocacy Documents

History and Mandate of the Coalition

In June 2000, a Senate of Canada report, entitled Quality End-of-Life Care: The Right of Every Canadian, made several strong recommendations for ensuring that Canadians have access to high quality end-of-life care. One of those recommendations is that the federal government, in collaboration with the provinces and territories, develops a Canadian strategy for end-of-life care.

In December 2000, a group of 24 national stakeholders met in Toronto to set the groundwork for the development of a strategy, resulting in the creation of the Palliative Care Coalition of Canada, previously known as the Quality End-of-Life Care Coalition of Canada (QELCCC).

Following an agreement reached at the 2023 Annual General Meeting, the Quality End-of-Life Care Coalition of Canada announced its new identity as the Palliative Care Coalition of Canada. This decision reflects PCCC’s steadfast commitment to embracing the current, accepted definition of palliative care – an all-encompassing approach that improves the quality of life for individuals and their loved ones facing serious illness.

Executive Summary

Within the Palliative Care Coalition of Canada are three working groups (Advocacy, Education, and Research and Knowledge Translation). The Chairs of these working groups also comprise the Executive Committee, providing overall leadership to the Coalition. Pallium Canada serves as the secretariat for the PCCC, providing administrative support for the working group tasks.

Education – Environmental Survey

Research Publications

Interventions for Grieving and Bereaved Informal Caregivers: A Scoping Review of the Canadian Literature

Thrower, C., Barrie, C., Baxter, S., Bloom, M., Borja, M., Butters, A., Dudgeon, D., Haque, A., Lee, S., Mahmood, I., Mirhosseini, M., Mirza, R., Murzin, K., Ankita, A., Skantharajah, N., Vadeboncoeur, C., Wan, A., & Klinger, C. (2022). Interventions for Grieving and Bereaved Informal Caregivers: A Scoping Review of the Canadian Literature. Journal of Palliative Care [Sage], Online First; https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/08258597221101826

Open Access publication supported by the Canadian Research Knowledge Network (CRKN).

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Support for Informal Caregivers in Canada: A Scoping Review from a Hospice and Palliative/End-of-Life Care Lens

Wan, A., Lung, E., Ankita, A., Li, Z., Barrie, C., Baxter, S., Benedet, L., Mirhosseini, M., Mirza, R., Thorpe, C., Vadeboncoeur, C., & Klinger, C. (2022). Support for Informal Caregivers in Canada: A Scoping Review from a Hospice and Palliative/End-of-Life Care Lens. Journal of Palliative Care [Sage], Online First; https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/08258597221078370

Open Access publication supported by the Canadian Research Knowledge Network (CRKN).

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The Grief and Bereavement Experiences of Informal Caregivers: A Scoping Review of the North American Literature

Skantharajah, N., Barrie, C., Baxter, S., Borja, M.C., Butters, A., Dudgeon, D., Haque, A., Mahmood, I., Mirhosseini, M., Mirza, R., Ankita, A., Thrower, C., Vadeboncoeur, C., Wan, A., & Klinger, C. (2021). The Grief and Bereavement Experiences of Informal Caregivers: A Scoping Review of the North American Literature. Journal of Palliative Care [Sage], Online First; https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/08258597211052269.

Open Access publication supported by Canadian Research Knowledge Network (CRKN).

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Informal Caregiving for People with Life-limiting Illness: Exploring the Knowledge Gaps

Lung, E., Wan, A., Ankita, A., Baxter, S., Benedet, L., Li, Z., Mirhosseini, M., Mirza, R., Thorpe, K., Vadeboncoeur, C., & Klinger, C. (2021). Informal Caregiving for People with Life-limiting Illness: Exploring the Knowledge Gaps. Journal of Palliative Care [Sage], Online First; https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0825859720984564.

Open Access publication supported by the Canadian Cancer Society (CCS) and the National Initiative for the Care of the Elderly (NICE).

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Gaps in Hospice and Palliative Care Research: A Scoping Review of the North American Literature

Antonacci, A., Barrie, C., Baxter, S., Chaffey, S., Chary, S., Grassau, P., Hammond, C., Mirhosseini, M., Mirza, R., Murzin, K., & Klinger, C. (2020). Gaps in Hospice and Palliative Care Research: A Scoping Review of the North American Literature. Journal of Aging Research [Hindawi], 2020; https://www.hindawi.com/journals/jar/2020/3921245/.

Open Access publication supported by the Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association (CHPCA) and the National Initiative for the Care of the Elderly (NICE).