The average survival time in long-term care is 18 months, meaning that palliative care essential for long-term care residents. A central component of palliative care is symptom management to provide a comfortable death. Symptom management could be an indicator of the quality of palliative care provision. We are exploring patterns of prescribing of end-of-life symptom management medications in long-term care homes across Ontario and Alberta. Specifically, we are analyzing health administrative data on prescriptions for symptom management medications. Additionally, we are interviewing healthcare providers and bereaved caregivers of long-term care residents to gain a better understanding of the observed prescribing patterns, and factors that may contribute to these patterns. This project will allow us to identify enablers and barriers to prescribing symptom management medications for residents nearing the end of life and help identify long-term care homes that may need additional support
Recruitment to platform at one of the hubs
Consent and enrolment in platform
Collection of key data, minimizing participant burden for individual trials
Screening automatically for all trials taking place on the platform, maximizing options for patients and caregivers
Trials – patients and caregivers participate in trials they are eligible for
Ongoing check-ins – patients and caregivers are followed until they choose to stop participating or until patient death
Bereavement – we follow caregivers for up to three years and offer them bereavement interventions
By linking practice and research, the platform will improve care for patients and families affected by advanced cancer.
Practice
Clinicians, patients, and caregivers identify areas for improvement in care.
PCPCRC
Supports foundational research that identifies promising interventions.
Research Platform
Comprised of Phase 3 RCTs, Research Hubs, Data Strategy.
Evaluation of hub model and data strategy to optimize research.
Training and mentorship underlie and uphold all activities in the cycle.