Hello from Helsinki!
Reflections from the 19th World Congress of the EAPC – Helsinki, May 2025.
by Dr Claudia Virdun. PCNA Vice President
In May, I had the privilege of travelling to Helsinki to present a research poster at the 19th World Congress of the European Association for Palliative Care (EAPC), themed "Ready for the Future." The full conference program and details can be found at eapccongress.eu, but I wanted to share a few personal highlights and reflections with PCNA members.
The congress opened in the stunning Helsinki City Hall—a venue steeped in history and elegance (I even wore a dress!), complete with ornate ceilings, chandeliers, a string quartet, and generous hospitality. The Deputy Mayor of Helsinki welcomed delegates warmly, proudly noting Finland’s reputation as the world’s happiest country and affirming their country’s commitment to supporting people with palliative care needs. The taxi driver taking me back to the hotel also talked about the fact he worked in the ‘happy country’ – a very nice theme!
Over the following two and a half days, the program was packed with plenary sessions, concurrent presentations, and workshops. While it was impossible to attend everything, the sessions I did join offered valuable insights into global palliative care challenges—many of which resonate with our Australian context. Common themes included the complexity of delivering integrated palliative care across diverse diagnoses and settings, and the critical importance of understanding patient and carer experiences—an encouraging alignment with the focus of my own research. In addition, discussions around implementation science and policy development were particularly relevant to my current work, offering both affirmation and new perspectives. It was also very sad to hear of the lack of access to basic palliative care in many countries across the globe due to many factors including political, war-related or socioeconomic concerns.
The congress also offered fantastic opportunities for networking. It was inspiring to connect with international colleagues and reconnect with Australian leaders in palliative and end-of-life care. Wandering the conference halls felt like walking among many of the field’s global leaders—who were incredibly approachable and open to conversation. Indeed, I also attended a specific meeting for national organisations (such as PCNA) to network – it was great for me to proudly represent our organisation at this level.
A personal highlight was dinner with collaborators from the UK’s Wolfson Palliative Care Research Centre. This dinner enabled great connection and conversations —many pearls of wisdom for sure.
I was also proud to present our poster: Virdun, C., Jones, L., Mudge, A., Singh, G., Yates, P., and Phillips, J. Transforming hospital palliative care through listening, empowering and acting: a pilot study. It was a rewarding experience to share our work and receive thoughtful feedback from colleagues around the world.
Helsinki was beautiful and I felt very lucky to attend an inspiring conference surrounded by such beauty. I only had 1 afternoon to wander the sites, but when doing so I saw so many stunning old buildings, cobble-stone streets, had an incredible coffee and chatted to an 18yr local who was fascinated in Australia (!) and enjoyed the long days (only about 4 hours of night-time!).
Imagine if we could create a themed workshop on palliative care nursing for a future congress and several of us head over to represent Australia!