Canterbury researchers surveying people in palliative care

Dying to make a difference - Canterbury researchers surveying people in palliative care

February 20, 2015

The University of Canterbury’s School of Health Sciences is appealing for people to take part in interviews to help understand the context of end-of-life and palliative care in the community.

Senior lecturer Kate Reid says she wants to listen to people currently receiving palliative care or family members who have experienced palliative care over the past five years.

The majority of palliative care work is out in the community, with more than 155,000 visits made to people in their homes in 2011. Currently 30,000 people die each year in New Zealand, with about 75 percent of these people needing input from palliative care services.

``More people will need to use palliative care services to assist them when they are dying and many more people will have family or friends needing hospice/palliative care services. We need to better understand issues, problems and needs.

“The health sector currently faces the challenge of an ageing population due to increasingly effective health interventions enabling people to live longer with chronic disease. This increases the demand for many services, including palliative care.

“Meeting this challenge requires strategic thinking and development of palliative care services in order to meet future population needs. The Palliative Care Council suggests that there will be an expected increase in deaths over age 85 and that this will climb to 41,400 by 2061.

“We have interviewed 40 health professionals from around the country as we work to explore issues relating to people in palliative care service. The next part is talking to people who have experienced it.

“Palliative and end of life care is under-researched in New Zealand and requires greater attention. This survey will help shape the future for a rational approach to care for the dying in our community.”

The university has courses in palliative care with a growing number of health professionals undertaking clinical training and research in palliative care. Reid recently produced the first study in New Zealand assessing the palliative care needs of Asian migrants.

ENDS

© Scoop Media