STEP Supporting Timely Engagement with Palliative Care
Research type
Research Study
Full title
STEP :Supporting Timely Engagement with Palliative Care for Patients with Advanced Cancer
IRAS ID
235722
Contact name
Lucy Ziegler
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Leeds
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 8 months, 25 days
Research summary
The aim of this project is to develop an intervention to help patients and
their clinicians make timely informed decisions about palliative care. For
patients with advanced cancer, several research studies [1-6] have shown
that early access to palliative 3-6 months before death care can improve
quality of life, reduce emergency hospital admissions, minimise aggressive
cancer treatments and enable patients to make choices about their end of
life care, including exercising the choice to die at home. Our research
undertaken in a UK population of almost four thousand patients with
advanced cancer found that the average duration of palliative care was
only 6 weeks and more than a third of patients did not receive any
palliative care at all. One of the reasons patients are referred late or not at
all is that it can often be very difficult for clinicians to decide when and how
to initiate a conversation about palliative care.
In this first phase of the project we will undertake interviews with patients and healthcare professionals (GPs, oncologists and oncology nurse specialists) to identify key decision makers and decision points within the cancer patient pathway. Focus groups with patients and health care professionals (oncologists, oncology nurse specialists and GPs) will then be undertaken to inform the development of a patient decision aid which will be designed to facilitate a timely and informed conversation about palliative care for patients with advanced cancer.REC name
HSC REC B
REC reference
17/NI/0249
Date of REC Opinion
13 Dec 2017
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion