Optimising palliative care for older people; phases 1b and 2 (OPTCare)
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Optimising palliative care for older people in community settings: development and evaluation of a new short term integrated service (phases 1b and 2)
IRAS ID
135445
Contact name
Catherine J Evans
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
King's College London
Research summary
People are living longer and more often die following a period of increasing frailty and difficulties with their health. Palliative care is recommended for elderly people living with frailty and non-cancerous advanced illnesses to improve their quality of life and their carers, but uncertainty surrounds how to achieve this. This study aims to work with an NHS community trust to create and test a new service for frail elderly people living at home or in a care home. The new service is delivered by close working between specialists in palliative care such as a Macmillan Nurse, and services provided by community nurses like a district nurse and general practitioners (a GP). The study is in three parts. This application is for parts 1b and 2. Part 1b refines the salient components of the new service by asking older people and carers, professionals providing services and members of voluntary groups about the results of a carers’ survey on care for older people at the end of life (part 1a underway). Part 2 examines if we are able to provide the new service in practice and if it benefits patients and carers. We will select 52 older people with deteriorating health, and their carers, to receive either the short-term palliative care service or usual care. The new service is delivered by two specialist community palliative care teams working with four community nursing teams and four GP practices. We will see how well the new service compares with usual care to improve older people’s wellbeing, reduce carers’ burden and differences in the services used and costs. The results tell us if this new service is likely to benefit patients and carers and if benefit is shown how we should carry out a larger study.
REC name
London - Queen Square Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
13/LO/1304
Date of REC Opinion
22 Oct 2013
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion