Research Methods in Palliative Care

Julia M Addington-Hall, Eduardo Bruera, Irene J Higginson, and Sheila Payne

Abstract

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 recognized. 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' books 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 book 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 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.

Keywords: palliative, end-of-life care, advanced disease, research, bereaved, epidemiological