Our theme seeks to generate high‑quality evidence to improve palliative and end‑of‑life care experiences for everyone involved. We will address the inequalities faced by many groups and use these insights to inform palliative and end‑of‑life care services that deliver fair, person‑centred care for all.
The need for palliative and end‑of‑life care in England is rising as the population ages and people live longer with multiple, complex conditions. Up to 90% of people will require some form of palliative or end‑of‑life support, accounting for one‑third of total NHS expenditure. As a result, the design and delivery of palliative and end‑of‑life services carry significant financial and system‑wide implications.
Around 1% of the population is nearing the end of life at any given time. This affects both the health and care workforce and families/carers who also provide support. Research helps us understand what matters to people at the end of life, identifies the barriers they face, and shapes services that support individuals and families to enable a good death.
What do we aim to achieve?
We explore how to improve the care people receive as they approach the end-of-life by identifying what works well and the barriers that prevent timely person-centred care. Our research generates evidence to improve the quality of palliative and end‑of‑life care for patients, unpaid and family carers, and the wider system, whether it is delivered in hospitals, at home, or in the community.
High‑quality, person-centred end‑of‑life care depends on understanding the cultural, social, geographical, and clinical needs of different groups, and our work addresses these inequalities to support more effective service delivery. We also investigate how best to support unpaid and family carers during this period and into bereavement.
We work in partnership with community organisations, healthcare providers and hospices to respond to regional needs and priorities. Through these collaborations, we seek to deliver research that is scalable, robust and grounded in real‑world practice. This approach helps ensure that our findings are effectively disseminated and translated into improvements in care quality and experiences for all those involved.
