RESEARCH AT THE INSTITUTE

The need to undertake high-quality research in palliative and end of life care is crucial to improving outcomes for patients and carers. However, there are complex  moral, ethical and practical issues involved in research in this population. Research into the care of the dying patient and their families is a particular challenge because the identification and measurement of appropriate outcomes of care are very complex. The Marie Curie Palliative Care Institute Liverpool has a core commitment to improve knowledge and understanding in this extremely sensitive area.

Key areas of current research include:

OPCARE9 - A European collaboration to optimise research for the care of cancer patients in the last days of life

This is an EU 7th Framework funded project worth €2.2 million which involves the collaboration of 9 international academic partners. The primary aim is to optimise research and clinical care for cancer patients in the last days of life. Using systematic review of the published and unpublished literature and the Delphi process to establish expert opinion on best clinical care, the project will investigate many of the most challenging areas of care at the end of life in order to explicate the evidence base to date and to develop research questions, suggest appropriate research methodologies and create research protocols to bridge the gaps in knowledge. The work will be undertaken in 5 key work packages:

• signs and symptoms of approaching death
• end of life decisions
• complementary comfort care
• psychosocial and psychological care of patients, family and caretakers
• volunteer services.

OPCARE9 section coming to this website soon

The Liverpool Care Pathway for the Dying Patient (LCP)

A comprehensive audit and research programme including quantitative and qualitative approaches continues to develop around the national implementation programme for the Liverpool Care of the Dying Pathway (LCP). Areas of specific interest include:

• National Audit of the delivery of care in the hospital setting (please click here for further information)
• The impact of the LCP on healthcare professionals in different care settings (to view publications please click here)
• Exploring the views of relatives and carers on death and dying
• Diagnosing Dying: exploring the process by which palliative care staff recognise the last days of life

Specialities including Paediatrics, Cardiology and Intensive Care have recognised the potential of the LCP and this interest has led to the development of action research projects covering the documentation adaptation, the implementation process and the evaluation of the impact of the LCP.

A formal collaboration with the Daniel Dan Hoed Cancer Centre in Rotterdam over the past three years has led to the establishment of a programme of implementation and evaluation of the LCP in the Dutch health care setting.  The Association of Comprehensive Cancer Centres in the Netherlands has recently identified the implementation of the LCP national wide as a key target and a project plan is under development.

Other research initiatives have included / include:-

• Investigation of the relationship between palliative care education and attitudes to death and dying

• The functioning of hospital specialist palliative care teams in Europe

• The development of a Rapid Discharge Pathway to enable patients to die at home

The Institute aims to act as a focus for palliative care research in the Merseyside and Cheshire Cancer Network promoting collaboration with the National Cancer Research Institute.