Abstract

This project aims to identify, appraise and synthesise ‘best practice’ methods for the evaluation of End of Life Care, particularly focussing on complex service-delivery interventions and reconfigurations.

The Objectives are to:  
1. Critically review the current methods used in evaluation research in EoLC considering the full range of issues
 2. Characterise the different care settings, organisational contexts, and patient groups where end-of-life research may be conducted and consider the implications of these for different methodological approaches
 3. Identify practical, ethical, legal and methodological issues pertinent to EoLC research
 4. Appraise the needs and views of key stakeholders, including policy-makers, research ethics committees, research funders and other regulators of research, health care professionals and patients, relatives and carers
 5. Evaluate potential solutions to barriers created by the issues identified and
 6. Synthesise the findings of the review and stakeholder consultation to develop guidelines for undertaking evaluation research in EoLC.

 The final guidance will be structured in a similar way to that of the MRC-GDECI, including case studies of best practice.