The ad hoc approach to palliative care research in Victoria is inadequate to address the future needs of the community in regard to evidence based palliative care. In 2009 the Centre for Palliative Care (CPC) examined the feasibility, requirements and recommendations for establishing a state-wide collaborative approach to enhance palliative care research outcomes.
An analysis of the current status of palliative care research in Victoria was undertaken. Methods included a literature review, semi-structured interviews with key informants, a questionnaire sent to over 200 stakeholders in Victoria, and two workshops which were held with the project’s steering committee and key informants.
The results showed that there was strong support within the field for a research collaboration in palliative care. It also identified enablers and barriers, current gaps in palliative care research capacity and infrastructure, and recommended priorities for future research. A proposed framework was developed using the information obtained.
The CPC received funding for three years to establish the Palliative Care Research Network Victoria (PCRNV). In the first year, the system for governance and management of the PCRNV was finalised which has enabled the PCRNV to foster collaboration within and externally. In the second year, workshops were held to inform the development of research proposals and a research agenda for the PCRNV. The focus of the third year has been on implementing the PCRVN’s first research project titled ‘Exploring factors influencing site of death and care trajectories in the last 12 months of life’.
The PCRNV aims to continue to foster a productive, collaborative and sustainable program of clinical intervention research in order to enhance the quality of palliative care. This presentation will discuss the ongoing agenda of the PCRNV, the challenges, threats and achievements of research collaboratives from our experience, and present preliminary results from PCRNV supported projects.