Palliative and end of life care is a surprisingly small field of enquiry when you consider its universal relevance and complexity. The Cambridge Palliative & End of Life Care Group, is co-led by Professor Stephen Barclay, Dr Anna Spathis and Dr Simon Noah Etkind, is one of only a few centres for such research and teaching in the UK.
Our research is global in its collaborations, ambitions and quality. It is also frequently local – with our GP practices, hospices, hospitals, and our nearby institutions in the East of England – as we strive to making a tangible difference. Patient and public involvement forms an integral part of how we ensure our research is directly relevant to the very populations we study.
We work to elicit factors, trends, financial implications and other evidence that allows us to impact and engage with commissioners, organisational leaders, and policy makers.
A strong emphasis on teaching and capacity building underpins our research. Our colleagues provide undergraduate and postgraduate teaching and supervision at the University of Cambridge, with added support for Academic Clinical Fellows.
Get in touch if our work is of interest.
Research highlights
Introducing Our Four New ARC Early-Career Clinical Academic Nurse Fellows
The Primary Care Unit (PCU) is delighted to welcome four new ARC Fellows, all early-career Clinical Academic Nurses, who will be leading impactful research projects to advance palliative and community care. Welcome to the PCU: Daisy Jacobs – ARC Impact Fellow, Nancy Burridge – ARC Impact Fellow, Sarah Thompson – ARC Research Fellow and Sian Taylor-Caitens – ARC Research Fellow.
Read more here.
New resource launched to share the evidence base for anticipatory prescribing in end of life care
The anticipatory prescribing of injectable medications is a common practice to manage symptoms for people receiving end-of-life care at home or in care homes. Despite its widespread use, there is limited evidence into acceptability, safety and clinical effectiveness of anticipatory prescribing. In this resource for healthcare professionals and applied researchers, Dr. Ben Bowers and colleagues share key findings from their extensive research covering topics such as reviewing the existing evidence base, changes in practice since the COVID-19 pandemic, the varying perspectives from people involved in this process, the financial costs of this medication, and solutions for system-level change.
You can access the resource here.