The Palliative Care Outcomes Collaboration (PCOC) is committed to partnering with community and palliative care consumers across Australia to improve palliative care outcomes for patients and their family and carers.
We also acknowledge the unique challenges of capturing consumer voices in the end-of-life space. By listening to consumers with knowledge and personal experiences of palliative care — patients, family members, and carers, we can better work together to ensure the PCOC program meets the needs of palliative care services and healthcare providers and the patients, family and carers they provide care for.
Who are consumers?
A consumer is a person who has used or may potentially use, any type of health care service. It includes their family and caregivers. A palliative care consumer is someone with lived experience of a life-limiting illness, either directly or as a family member or carer of someone who has received palliative care.
About Consumer Engagement in PCOC
The Palliative Care Outcomes Collaboration (PCOC) is a national program funded by the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing. PCOC is based at the University of Wollongong. Participation in PCOC is voluntary.
PCOC is responsible for supporting Palliative Care Services and clinicians in the acute (hospital and hospice) and primary care (community and general practice) settings, to improve palliative care patient, carer and family outcomes.
Measuring patient outcomes is critical for quality and safe care, and for the accountability of a service to its patients, families and carers. PCOC aims to improve palliative care patient, carer and family outcomes. PCOC uses a cycle of routine assessment, measurement of patient outcomes, reporting and benchmarking through Communities of Practice, to support care planning and drive improvements in palliative care in Australia.
For more information about PCOC, see About PCOC.
How have consumers contributed to the work of PCOC?
Consumers have contributed in many ways to strengthen and improve the PCOC program, and ensuring the PCOC program continues to contribute to the provision of quality palliative care across Australia. Some of the projects that consumers have been involved with include:
A video series project in collaboration with the Allied Health Team at the Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District. The series can be watched on PCOC's YouTube.
For more information about ESAS, see Clinical Tools and Assessments.
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To contact PCOC for more information, email pcoc@uow.edu.au
© PCOC UOW 2026. The intellectual property associated with a suite of resources on this website is owned by the Palliative Care Outcomes Collaboration (PCOC), University of Wollongong. PCOC has placed resources in the public domain and is happy for others to use them without charge, modification or development. These resources cannot be modified or developed without the consent of the University.
PCOC is a national palliative care project funded by the Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing.