Researchers: Daisy Jacobs, Dr Ben Bowers, Ben Jackson (Health Innovation East), Dr Louisa Polak
Funders: NIHR Applied Research Collaboration East of England Impact Fellowship
Partner institutions: St Nicholas Hospice Care; NIHR ARC East of England; Health Innovation East
Start date: 24/4/2025
End date: 01/08/2026
Project summary:
This Impact Fellowship project aims to help improve timely access to end-of-life symptom control through enabling family carers to administered subcutaneous medications. This project will explore how clinical champions can be optimally supported to embed Families Administering Medications (FAM) into routine practice. It will integrate national stakeholders’ experiences and evaluate local training approaches, and the effectiveness of local educational and support mechanisms. The project seeks to co-develop a sustainable training infrastructure and peer support network, contributing to caregiver empowerment and scalable models for community-based end-of-life care.
Project aims:
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To conduct a mixed-methods evaluation of how clinical champions are supported in practice, identifying barriers, facilitators, and adaptations required for sustainable integration of FAM into routine community-based end-of-life care.
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To co-develop of a replicable training platform and peer support network, fostering knowledge exchange and service improvement across care providers.
Project impact:
This project will provide a scalable solution in the shift of care to within the community, through the co-development and sharing of a sustainable training infrastructure for the FAM scheme and a model for peer support across care settings.
Further information, references, publications and presentations:
O’Hara L, Evans C, Bowers B. Family carers' administration of injectable medications at the end of life: a service evaluation of a novel intervention. British Journal of Community Nursing 2023; 2; 28(6): 284-292
Bowers B, Pollock K, Barclay S (2020) Administration of end-of-life drugs by family caregivers during covid-19 pandemic (editorial). British Medical Journal; 369: m1615
Enhancing Anticipatory Prescribing in End of Life Care Research Repository. 2024.