National Palliative Care Social prescribing service model
Palliative Care Social Prescribing
Help activate social and practical support for people with life-limiting illness, their families and friends.
Become a Palliative Care Social Prescriber and improve the social dimensions of end-of-life care using HELP.
The Healthy End of Life Program (HELP) is an initiative of the Public Health Palliative Care Unit of La Trobe University.
Born out of a large body of research, it provides an evidence-based framework and practical tools for supporting the social wellbeing and quality of life of patients and their carers during end-of-life care.
The HELP Palliative Care Social Prescribing Service Model was designed to help normalise the practice of asking for and receiving help from one’s personal network at the end of life by making it both acceptable and easy to do so. In supporting widespread uptake of the HELP App, we aim to raise awareness of the vital role that informal support mechanisms can play in attending to a person’s care needs, alongside formal healthcare and other services.
HELP helps to fill the gap, utilising an individual’s personal connections to build a social support network that’s able to consistently and reliably help out with everyday tasks – taking care of the little things day-to-day that can make a big difference to emotional well–being and overall quality of life during this vulnerable period in a person’s life.
HELP is not intended to replace formal mechanisms of care but rather operate alongside it. The focus during end-of-life care is often medical in nature and the value of social support to patients and their loved ones can be overlooked.
While patients and carers may be reluctant to ask for and receive help, they are more likely to request and accept support if encouraged to do so by a trusted healthcare professional.
The HELP Brief Intervention is an easy way to integrate social prescribing into routine care.
By taking five minutes during a patient-carer interaction to prescribe HELP, you play a critical role in educating patients about the importance of drawing on their personal networks for the practical, everyday support they need at this time.
Where time permits, we recommend helping patients and carers to get started by assisting them to download the HELP App and provide ‘Conversation Starter’ materials such as flyers or user guides to facilitate set up. This support can also be provided by others within your service such as nurses, allied health professionals, volunteers and students on placement.
HELP resources
Putting HELP into practice
Discover key resources for your HELP project.
Help Education and training
As a HELP provider, you can have access to our full education and training program.
This will empower you to implement the HELP Social Prescribing Service Model for your own service or organisation.
Thank you to our partners
Program Partners
State government and philanthropic funds support HELP’s development and operation.
Using the HELP Social Prescribing Service Model
As a HELP Partner, data will be systematically collected on your behalf via the HELP App.
By integrating your organisational data with that from the community, the HELP App lets you demonstrate your impact.
Start making a difference
Register your interest in becoming a HELP Provider
Evaluation and research
Learn more about the work we’ve been doing with our partners.
And how we can help you demonstrate your impact.