Research in palliative care: can hospices afford not to be involved?
Published on: 01 October 2013
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Commissioned by the Commission into the Future of Hospice Care, this report aimed to identify major concerns of national and local importance on the future of research related to hospice care.
It also sought to provide recommendations to inform the work of the Commission in relation to research and research capacity building.
The Commission sought the expertise of the team based in the End of Life Observatory at the University of Lancaster to consider what role hospices might play in future research.
This scoping study identified a number of outcomes – these included:
Enhancing understanding of the future of research and evidence generated by hospices.
Directly contributing to the evolution and development of a stronger role for research in hospice care, and providing models for implementation.
Contributing recommendations for appropriate and feasible capacity building and research training in hospice personnel and forming the basis of further research and evaluation.
The authors set out recommendations for hospices, universities and national organisations supporting hospice care, and ultimately conclude that the pertinent question should be: ‘can hospices afford not to be involved with research?’
This paper is part of a series of contributions to the Commission into the Future of Hospice Care. The aim of the Commission into the Future of Hospice Care is to help hospices look ahead so they can anticipate and meet the changing and growing needs of the communities they serve.
