Effective palliative care requires a strong evidence base to advance clinical practice and policy-making. Calls for more collaborative and strategic approaches to research have resulted in the development of research networks at national and wider regional levels.
The aim was to synthesize the learning arising from the activities of the Palliative Care Research Network from the island of Ireland, in order to identify the overarching messages from these activities. The ultimate aim is to promote the communication of these messages to practice.
The study developed a systematic search process influenced by Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis guidelines, with analysis of data adopting a qualitative critical interpretative synthesis approach using thematic synthesis.
In total, 142 dissemination products were sourced from 22 associated projects, including peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations, reports, and web/social media posts.
The synthesis of dissemination products identified 4 key themes relating to palliative care research and practice: (1) addressing the needs of patients while recognizing the caregiver role, (2) equal access to connected services, (3) general and specific needs in palliative care research, and (4) challenges in palliative care research.
The key themes identified relate to challenges in both practice and research, highlighting the complexity of palliative care provision that aims to support both patients and carers, and research in this area. However, an important implication is the need for a broader approach to dissemination (beyond traditional academic activities) to ensure that research in palliative care is well placed to inform both practice and policy.