Future directions for community engagement as a public health approach to palliative care in Australia

The origins of contemporary public health approaches to palliative and end-of-life care can be traced to Victoria, Australia. The work of Allan Kellehear and the palliative care unit at La Trobe University proved seminal, and this continues to grow. But while the growth of compassionate communities continues internationally, both challenges and opportunities remain for communities in Australia. In this context, we discuss future directions for community engagement as a public health approach to palliative care. Drawing from examples of community activities and from the literature, we highlight the use of arts and social media as an emerging strength from which to build. Through the lens of positive education, we propose a positive paradigm for death education in schools to promote positive dying. The relevance and potential contribution of appreciative inquiry is then explored as an asset-based public health approach to support sustainable community development. Collective action towards these future directions will contribute to the continued flourishing of public health approaches to palliative care in Australia.