Research methods in palliative care

Palliative and end of life care are concerned with the physical, social, psychological and spiritual care of people with advanced disease. It currently has a poorly developed research base, but the need to improve this is increasingly recognised. One of the reasons for the lack of research - and the variable quality of the research that is undertaken - is the difficulty of conducting research with very ill and bereaved people. Standard and well-establishedresearch methods may need to be adapted to work in this context. This means that existing research methods textbooks may be of limited use to palliative care practitioners seeking to do research for thefirst time, or to more experienced researchers wanting to apply their knowledge in palliative care settings. This research methods textbook is the first to be written specifically for palliative care. It has been edited by four experienced palliative care academics with acknowledged expertise and international reputations in this field. It encompasses methods used in both clinical and health services research in palliative care, with sections on clinical,epidemiological, survey and qualitative research, as well as a section covering skills needed in any research project. Each chapter provides readers with an up to date overview of the research method in question,an understanding of its applicability to palliative care and of the particular challenges of using it in this setting. It is essential reading for all palliative care researchers.

“"The authors are among the world's leading palliative care researchers, which makes this book one of the definitive resources for those interested in palliative care research...Research Methods in Palliative Care represents a milestone in the palliative care literature by legitimizing the complexity of palliative care research. The book should be required reading for all mentors supervising palliative care research and all junior investigators considering a research career focused on palliative care research. Grant reviewers and funding agencies should also consider this book as an essential reference when evaluating palliative care proposals. The authors provide a comprehensive review of research methods while consistently remaining mindful of the unique challenges this patient populations present to researchers today."--Journal of Palliative Medicine”

The book is well set out, with a useful system of headings ... easily understood by somebody not familiar with the research process. ...this book will be a useful reference for those experienced in research and an invaluable guide for those embarking upon it for the first time. Palliative Care,

Professor Julia M Addington-Hall joined the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Southampton University as Professor in End of Life Care in 2004. She now heads the Cancer, Palliative and End of Life Care Research Group. Her current research programmes include palliative care beyond cancer (including stroke, heart failure and MND); depression at the end of life; the development and validation of an after-death questionnaire for bereaved people (VOICES), and evaluatinghealth and social care services for people in the last months of life. She is co-Director of the new 'Cancer Experiences Collaborative' (CECo), funded by the UK National Cancer Research Institute. Sheis Chair of the UK Palliative Care Research Society. She is an editor of the journal 'Palliative Medicine', and a member of the editorial board of 'Journal of Pain and Symptom Control'. She has lectured extensively in the UK and abroad.Dr. Eduardo Bruera currently holds the F.T. McGraw Chair in the Treatment of Cancer and Chair of the Department of Palliative Care and Rehabilitation Medicine. He previously worked at the University of Alberta, helping to develop the Division of Palliative Care Medicine and the Edmonton Regional Palliative Care Program. Among his research interests are cancer pain, cachexia, fatigue, delirium, communication, and outcomes research in palliative care. He has a strong interest in the globaldevelopment of palliative care and has collaborated for many years with the World Health Organization/Pan American Health Organization and served as Chair of the International Association of Hospice andPalliative Care (IAHPC) between 2000 and 2004. In addition to having published more than 700 papers, abstracts, and book chapters, Dr. Bruera has trained hundreds of physicians who are currently practicing palliative care around the world. Professor Irene Higginson is particularly known for her development of methods to assess the quality and outcomes of palliative care, evaluation of treatments and epidemiologically based assessment of problems and need in cancer and non-cancer. She hasdeveloped undergraduate and postgraduate education programmes for doctors, nurses and other professions, including a multi-professional Masters programme for the leaders in palliative care for the future.Irene Higginson has published widely on palliative care, quality of life measurement, and evaluation of services and therapies, in scientific journals and in textbooks. She has developed and validated two tools used widely in the UK and many other countries to help in the assessment of patients and families and in the quality of care, led the evidence review for the NICE guidance on Supportive and Palliative Care, and the WHO new guidance on Better Palliative Care for Older People. ProfessorSheila Payne is a health psychologist with a background in nursing. She holds the Help the Hospices Chair in Hospice Studies based at the Institute of Health Research and works in collaboration with theInternational Observatory on End of Life Care at Lancaster University. Professor Payne has a long track record in palliative care research and scholarship. She previously led the Palliative and End-of-Life Care Research Group at the University of Sheffield. Her research agenda focuses on palliative and end-of-life care for older people and bereavement support. She holds a number of major grants in these areas and supervises PhD students. She co-directs the NCRI funded Cancer ExperiencesCollaborative with Professor Addington-Hall. Sheila has published widely in academic and professional journals, written ten books, and edits the 'Health Psychology' book series published by the OpenUniversity Press with Sandra Horn.

Palliative and end of life care are concerned with the physical, social, psychological and spiritual care of people with advanced disease. It currently has a poorly developed research base, but the need to improve this is increasingly recognised. One of the reasons for the lack of research - and the variable quality of the research that is undertaken - is the difficulty of conducting research with very ill and bereaved people. Standard and well-established research methods may need to be adapted to work in this context. This means that existing research methods textbooks may be of limited use to palliative care practitioners seeking to do research for the first time, or to more experienced researchers wanting to apply their knowledge in palliative care settings. This research methods textbook is the first to be written specifically for palliative care. It has been edited by four experienced palliative care academics with acknowledged expertise and international reputations in this field. It encompasses methods used in both clinical and health services research in palliative care, with sections on clinical, epidemiological, survey and qualitative research, as well as a section covering skills needed in any research project. Each chapter provides readers with an up to date overview of the research method in question, an understanding of its applicability to palliative care and of the particular challenges of using it in this setting. It is essential reading for all palliative care researchers.

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