Palliative care inequalities for non-cancer patients
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The unmet needs for patients diagnosed with a terminal non-malignant condition requiring hospital palliative care
IRAS ID
347330
Contact name
Cara Bailey
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Birmingham
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 7 months, 25 days
Research summary
Specialist palliative care aim to improve the quality of life for those individuals living with terminal illness and their families through the early assessment and treatment of symptoms either physical, spiritual or psychosocial (WHO 2019). Despite this, existing research has shown there are inequalities for patients diagnosed with non-malignant terminal conditions needing to access specialistic palliative care. Whilst the majority of research has been conducted in hospices or community palliative care team, this research will explore if there are inequalities for patients with a terminal non-malignant condition requiring specialist palliative care whilst in hospital.
The study will involve two phases:
Phase one
Phase one comprises of the hospital trust informatics team to collect retrospective data from all the referrals received by the supportive and palliative care team at a single site hospital within the UHB trust between 01st September 2024 – 30th November 2024.
The anonymised data that will be analysed will include:1. Patient’s primary diagnosis (Malignant or non-malignant condition)
2. Reason for referral to the supportive and palliative care
3. Discharge reason from hospital palliative care team.4. The timeframe from referred to team to discharge
Phase Two
Phase two consists of collecting data via a patient survey which has been designed for the purpose of this study, to explore patient views and experience of specialist palliative care. Participants will be eligible to complete the survey if they have been referred to the hospital supportive and palliative care team. Potential participants will be recruited by clinical members of the hospital supportive and palliative care (including the principal investigator) during their routine face to face review. The study will be conducted over a 3 month period.The implications will aim to enhance the standard of care for patients, underpin educational sessions for hospital clinicians and hopefully improve the experience of palliative for patient who are diagnosed with a terminal non-malignant conditions.
REC name
London - Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
25/LO/0106
Date of REC Opinion
23 Feb 2025
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion