Carers’/ family members’ experiences of end-of-life care in hospital.
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A qualitative study of carers’ and family members’ experiences of end-of-life care in an acute setting.
IRAS ID
341986
Contact name
Shaen Milward
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 8 months, 1 days
Research summary
Having listened carefully to feedback received from some relatives of deceased patients, this proposed local level research into carers’ and family members’ experiences aims to inform future practice and the quality of end-of-life (EOL) care received by adults during the last days of their lives in an acute setting, specifically, at University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust, Derriford (UHP). Although brief feedback questionnaires are currently completed soon after a bereavement, the questions asked focus on practicalities. Little detailed or in-depth information is available to health care professionals that enables them to learn of and understand, from the perspective of the bereaved, people’s experiences of the EOL care that is received in UHP.
This study aims to address this gap and identify both good practice and any improvements that could be made with a view to providing the best quality of care possible. The findings from the study will help to inform related EOL care policy and enhance the quality and consistency of EOL care received by adult inpatients in this specific setting. The findings will also be disseminated via publication and conference presentations with a view to informing and supporting improvements to EOL care during the last days of life further afield.
Data for the study will be collected via semi-structured interviews with carers or family members of adults who have spent the last days of their lives in the hospital and died approximately six months previously. Participation in the research will be completely voluntary and interviews will be conducted sensitively. All participants will be non-vulnerable adults and will be asked to provide informed consent prior to their participation in the study. Interviews will be conducted by telephone or online for the convenience of the participants, who will remain anonymous.
REC name
Wales REC 5
REC reference
24/WA/0200
Date of REC Opinion
8 Aug 2024
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion