This proposal will support more evidence-based practice in palliative care by bringing together health and social care professionals and researchers in a Community of Practice to focus on two key practice issues. It will also support policy decisions by providing guidance reports and infographics on these practice issues, produced by the community, for service providers and policymakers. The All Ireland Institute of Hospice and Palliative Care partners, hospice and palliative care providers, and Palliative Care Research Network members will be invited to join this island of Ireland community.
To test how the community will work best, members will initially meet several times over a two-month period to discuss how to manage constipation that has occurred because of medicines used for pain relief. During sessions researchers will share their research, health and social care professionals their practice, and discuss gaps in knowledge, such as clinical guidelines or research priorities. They will identify any issues and priorities and a guidance report and infographic will be shared with policy makers, service providers and key stakeholders. Before and after the test period participants will be surveyed, to check whether the community of practice has been useful, effective and what may need to change.
After this test period, health and social care professionals, researchers and people with life-limiting conditions, family carers and interested citizens (AIIHPC’s Voices4Care), will identify further topics. Then the community will meet several times over a further two-month period to discuss one of these topics.
We will then evaluate whether the community has been successful through further surveys and interviews with members to check for any changes in their knowledge, attitudes, and practice. A final report will be published and shared with researchers, health and social care professionals, policymakers, service providers, funders and AIIHPC’s Voices4Care members across the island of Ireland.
