FAQs for healthcare professionals

Research in hospice care is essential to improving patient outcomes, developing best practices, enhancing the quality of life for patients and families and ensuring evidence-based practices (EBP) are followed.

Common types of research include clinical trials on symptom management, observational studies on patient and caregiver experiences, qualitative research on end-of-life care, and studies on the efficacy of palliative interventions.

Professionals can stay updated by subscribing to relevant journals, attending conferences, participating in professional organisations, joining research networks, and engaging in continuing professional development (CPD) opportunities.

The first steps include identifying a research question or problem, conducting a literature review, designing the study, obtaining necessary approvals (e.g. from an ethics committee), and securing funding, if needed.

Ethical approval is obtained by submitting a detailed research proposal to an ethics committee. This will outline the study’s purpose, methodology, potential risks, and how informed consent will be obtained and maintained.

Common methodologies include qualitative methods (interviews, focus groups), quantitative methods (surveys, randomised controlled trials – RCTs), mixed-methods approaches and case studies.

Informed consent involves providing clear, comprehensive information about the study, ensuring the participant understands the risks and benefits, and obtaining voluntary, written consent.

This process must be done sensitively to the patient’s condition and capacity to consent.

Research must not cause harm or undue burden to the patient or their families. You must maintain confidentiality and respect patient autonomy at all times. Patients must have the right to withdraw from the study at any time without this affecting their care.

Family members can be involved in interviews, surveys and focus groups to gather insights on their experiences and perspectives. Researchers should obtain informed consent from family members and ensure their participation is voluntary and confidential.

Challenges can include dealing with the sensitive nature of end-of-life care, patient and family emotional stress, high variability in patient conditions, and ensuring accurate, reliable data while minimising disruption to care.

Strategies include using robust qualitative methods, multicentre collaborations to increase sample size, focusing on case studies, and employing mixed-methods approaches to enrich data.

Statistical methods can include descriptive statistics, inferential statistics (e.g. t-tests, chi-square tests), regression analysis, survival analysis, and qualitative data analysis techniques (e.g. thematic analysis).

Findings can be translated into practice by developing clinical guidelines, training programmes for healthcare professionals, integrating evidence-based interventions into care protocols, and continuous quality improvement (CQI) initiatives.

Research findings can be shared through publishing in peer-reviewed journals, presenting at conferences, hosting workshops and webinars, and sharing results with professional organisations and healthcare institutions.

Professionals can advocate by highlighting the importance of research in improving care, collaborating with academic institutions, seeking funding opportunities, participating in research networks and engaging policymakers to support hospice research initiatives.