Meet Professor Samar Aoun AM

Catholic Medical Association WA guest speaker Prof. Samar Aoun AM will be giving a presentation on growing compassion in life and death: is it a myth or a reality in our health care system?

Recognising that 95% of care is provided to people at end of life by the community (family and friends), and only 5% is provided by formal services/ health professionals, there is growing global interest in adopting the compassionate communities approach to support people with a life limiting illness or chronic disease.

Prof. Samar Aoun AM is Perron Institute Research Chair in Palliative Care at the University of Western Australia and Perron Institute. She is the founder and chair of Compassionate Communities Australia, which aims to become a hub of knowledge and skills for community-led solutions that would lead to social and systems change.

Prof. Samar Aoun AM, WA Australian of the Year 2023, is a global leader in the areas of public health, palliative care, and compassionate communities research. She has influenced rapid system change and informed practice and policy at national and international levels.

The Compassionate Communities approach is about understanding that everyone has a role to play when it comes to illness, caring, death and grief. It provides a practical framework, based on research evidence, on how to achieve this partnering between formal and informal networks and increase people's sense of connectedness so they're not isolated at their time of greatest need. What role should the healthcare system play in the compassionate communities approach to care?

After the presentation all ticket holders are warmly invited to join for a discussion and gathering in the parish hall with a complimentary falafel sandwich provided.