The Use of Research to Facilitate the Creation of a Hospital Palliative Care Team

Abstract

Although there is increasing awareness of the importance of palliative care, services for terminally ill patients in hospital are often less well developed than those in the community. This study evaluated the problems of patients who were terminally ill, with the diagnosis of cancer, in a large teaching hospital during a six-week period. The data collected were then used as a basis for establishing a hospital palliative care team. This paper outlines the possible roles of research in the development of palliative care services.