About Palliative.Info - A Palliative Care Information Resource

I developed Palliative.info in Oct. 2001 as a resource for those involved in palliative and end-of-life care.

There are an overwhelming number and variety of internet sites dedicated to palliative care, some of which are maintained diligently, others which have been allowed to pass comfortably into the virtual great beyond. Palliative.info strives to provide an organized collection of links to palliative care resources on the internet that are active and maintained, including some which were developed locally in Manitoba, Canada.

There are certain types of content that I won't post on this site:

Time-limited content, such as job postings, and announcements for conferences and other events. The maintenance of such information is very labour-intensive, as requests may come from anywhere in the world, and vigilance is needed to keep up with outdated material.
I don't advertise for for-profit organizations or facilities. If their sites contain material that may support others in the provision of palliative and end-of-life care, or help those in need of such care, then by all means I will link to it. However, I will not link to a site whose content is simply designed to solicit business. Please don't send me "I'll link to you if you link to me" correspondence, as they will be ignored. Links to this site are welcomed, but not with conditions of reciprocity.
Palliative care often deals with complex ethical and social issues, about which individuals and groups may have very strong views. I will not link to sites which present biased and unbalanced information in pursuit of promotion of a cause, or where I feel there is a potential for harm to those who are vulnerable and needing support with a life-threatening condition. Of course, this is a judgment call that will be influenced by my own biases, but that's the way it is.

I check all links about once a month in order to ensure their validity, as time permits (there are over 800 links). Broken links are corrected if a fixable issue can be addressed (such as adjusting for reorganization of the source site), or removed if they clearly reflect a lost resource (such as an organization that no longer exists). You may still find invalid links here, as I will not remove a link until it is clear to me that the site simply wasn't down for maintenance/reorganization.

There is no commercial or institutional support for this site (such as private enterprise or university), nor do I have computer/information technology people involved. I fund all aspects of the site, such as domain registration (palliative.info), purchasing hosting space, software, etc.. I do all of the site design, development, and maintenance. I have no training in computer-related sciences, so please adjust your expectations accordingly!

The absence of any external involvement in this site has its advantages... I can present material without concerns of potential influence from funding sources, special interest groups, employers, or other stakeholders. The vulnerabilities of a "one-person show" are obvious, and relate mainly to resources... time, financial, and the energy to keep up the vigilance for new material and out-dated links.

This site is targeted mainly for health care providers involved in end-of-life care. Patients and families/friends will also find relevant material, particularly through the Patient / Family / Caregiver page.