Palliative Care Research Projects

Click on the links below to learn more about each research project and access available research project outputs including videos, reports, papers, posters, helpful links and more:  

Understanding Inequalities in Palliative Care for Older People and Providing for Future Need [The UP Study]

Keywords: Palliative Care, Inequalities, Drivers, Financial hardship, Equitable provision, Older persons, Health and social care utilisation, Universal palliative care

Timeline: 1 Mar 2018 – 1 Nov 2021

Recognising a dying person: Death as a social process

Keywords: Nursing homes, death, social death, recognition, ethnography, end-of-life care, dignified life

Timeline: September 2021 – August 2024

Ensuring proactive efficient and effective out of hours palliative care provision: examining the role, contribution and impact of the Healthcare Assistant

Keywords: Healthcare assistant; Out-of-hours; End-of-life care; Palliative care; Hospice; Community care

Timeline: March 2020 – July 2022

Examining the experiences of people living in nursing homes, their families, and staff during the COVID-19 pandemic

Keywords: COVID-19, palliative care, pandemic policy development, nursing home settings, residents, family carers, healthcare professionals

Timeline: October 2020 - January 2022

Public knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions of palliative care and advance care planning

Keywords: Palliative care, Advance care planning, Public health, Mixed methods

Timeline: June 2018 - March 2021

Implementing Universal Palliative Care in Ireland

Keywords: Sláintecare, Universal Health and Social Care, Palliative Care, Implementation, General and Specialist Palliative Care 

Timeline: January 2021 – January 2024

Attitudes towards deprescribing in older people receiving palliative care

Keywords: Deprescribing, Palliative care, Older people, Attitudes, Hospice Settings 

Timeline: March 2021 - June 2021

Constipation Assessment and Management - an Educational Intervention [DEMCon]

Keywords: Constipation, Symptom Management, Hospice, Palliative Care, Education 

Timeline: September 2016 - September 2019

Developing an understanding of human rights challenges in palliative care

Keywords: Human Rights, Legislation, Equality, Autonomy, Palliative Care, Health Care Professionals 

Timeline: September 2019 – December 2020

Developing a model for rehabilitative palliative care

Keywords: Rehabilitation, Enablement, Rehabilitative palliative care

Timeline: March 2020 – April 2021

Palliative and End-of-Life Care Data in Ireland: Establishing the State of the Nation

Keywords: Palliative Care; Chronic Disease, Delivery of Health Care, Integrated; Outcome Assessment (Health Care); Health Policy, Secondary Data Analysis

Timeline: March 2020 – February 2022

Developing a Standardised Undergraduate Palliative Care Curriculum – Encompassing International Recommendations

Keywords: Implementation, Curriculum Development, Interactive Teaching/Learning Methods, Technology, Assessment Methods

Timeline: September 2017- August 2020

Supporting care home healthcare staff to engage in decision-making with family carers: scaling up an educational intervention

Keywords: Advanced Dementia, Family Carer Decision Support intervention, Family Carers, Care Homes, Healthcare Staff

Timeline: April 2019 – April 2022

Understanding the relationship between physical activity and bone health in people with bone metastases

Keywords: Exercise Oncology, Cancer, Exercise, Physical Activity, Bone Health

Timeline: February 2019 – July 2022

People with Serious Mental Illness and Access to Palliative Care in Ireland

Keywords: Palliative Care Needs, Mental Health Problems, Serious Mental Illness, Social Inequalities, and Co-Morbid Physical Health Issues

Timeline: Study carried out: Oct 2013 – Oct 2017

People with Intellectual Disability and Access to Palliative Care

Keywords: Palliative Care Needs, Intellectual Disability, Multi-Morbidity, Carers, End of Life Care and Inequalities 

Timeline: Study carried out: Oct 2013 – Oct 2017

People with Advanced Heart Failure, Their Carers and Access to Palliative Care in Ireland

Keywords: Palliative Care, Advanced Heart Failure, Carers, Caregiver Burden, Quality of Life, Advance Care Planning and Communication   

Timeline: Study carried out: Oct 2013 – Oct 2017

Evaluation of a Psycho-Educational Intervention for People with Advanced Cancer who are Experiencing Unintentional Weight loss (Cachexia) and Their Lay Carers

Keywords: Advanced Cancer, Wasting Syndrome, Cachexia, Psychosocial Impact, Psychological Impact and Intervention

Timeline: Study carried out: Oct 2013 – Oct 2016

An Evidence-based Model for the Transfer & Exchange of Research Knowledge (EMTReK) Relevant and Applicable to Palliative Care

Keywords: Knowledge Transfer & Exchange (KTE), KTE Model, Knowledge Transfer Activities and Dissemination and Evidence into Practice

Timeline: Study carried out: Nov 2013 – Jul 2017

Towards Improved Diagnosis and Symptom Management in Palliative Care

Keywords: Palliative Care, Depression, Assessment Tools, Carnell Scale for Depression in Dementia and Abbreviated Scale.  

Timeline: Study carried out: Oct 2013 – Oct 2017

The Transition to Adult Palliative Care Services in Ireland

Keywords: Children’s’ Palliative Care Services, Transition Process, Interventions and Models for Transition

Timeline: Study carried out: Jan 2013 – Dec 2015

Developing a Palliative Care Model for People with Dementia in the Community

Keywords: Dementia, Palliative Care, Evidence-based Model and Community Care

Timeline: Study carried out: Oct 2017 – Dec 2021

Unlocking Knowledge and Innovation Contained Within Palliative Care Research in Ireland [KINDLE]

Keywords: Research Outputs, Key Messages, Accessibility of the Learnings, Thematic Synthesis and Knowledge Transfer

Timeline: Study carried out: Dec 2015 – May 2017

What do Patients and Caregivers Want Near End of Life?

Key words: Discrete Choice Experiment, Palliative Care, End of Life Care, Preferences, Services & Supports, Specialist Palliative Care. 

Timeline: Study carried out: Mar 2014 – Mar 2017

Research Project Webpages Coming Soon

• Families of Children with Life-Limiting Conditions – Experiences, Access & Decision Making