Researchers: Dr Swapnil Ghotane, Dr Ben Bowers, Dr Kathryn Dixon, Dr Lucy Collison, Dr Rebecca Roberts, Dr Binu Perera, Dr Fauzaan Ahmed, Helen Cai, Riddhiman Ghosh, Purvanshi Patel
Funders: Wellcome Trust, NIHR Applied Research Collaboration Affiliated Study
Start date: 01/06/2026
End date: 31/05/2027
Project summary:
The need for community palliative and end-of-life care is growing. More than 50 million people worldwide need palliative care each year. In England and Wales in 2023, 57.2% of deaths occurred in community settings. This means many people need well-planned support at home, in care homes and hospices. Community palliative care often involves several services and professionals, but services may be shaped by local pressures rather than by what matters most to patients, families, carers, and frontline staff. This systematic review is needed to understand how services are designed with input from the people who use and deliver them, and to identify practical learning for future service improvements.
Project aims:
This project will explore how patients, families, carers and professionals are involved in designing and improving community palliative and end-of-life care services. This approach is often called co-design. The review will look at who is involved in co-design, how they take part, what methods are used, and what helps or prevents meaningful involvement.
Project impact:
This systematic review will summarise existing evidence regarding to what extent community palliative and end-of-life care services are co-designed with users and providers of care. It will explore what co-design approaches have been used, who is involved, what works well, and what barriers services face. The findings will give researchers, service managers, commissioners, and policy audiences practical evidence to support future service improvement and implementation planning.
Further information, references, publications and presentations: