$1.1 million for palliative care research in NSW

PDF printable version of $1.1 million for palliative care research in NSW (PDF 25 KB)

27 July 2007

MAS028/07

Research into end of life and palliative care practices will be supported by six National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) grants announced today by the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health and Ageing, Senator Brett Mason.

“The Australian Government is committed to health and medical research, and to improving palliative care,” Senator Mason said at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital.

“We understand that this unique form of health care must be integrated into our medical system, and we have allocated almost $300 million over seven years to support palliative-care initiatives.”

Improving the quality of life for people with end-stage heart failure and advanced cancer are under investigation by Associate Professor Patricia Davidson from the University of Western Sydney and Associate Professor Paul Glare from Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, respectively.

Researchers from the University of Newcastle have received three separate palliative care grants. Professor Afaf Girgis will develop a consumer toolkit including information about specialist palliative care services as well as a self-assessment tool for patients and their caregivers to identify any unmet needs that they may have. Mrs Claire Johnson and Mrs Amy Walker will further explore the palliative care self-assessment tool, particularly ways to communicate these unmet needs, to their health care team, so that improvements can occur.

At the University of Sydney, Ms Peta McVey will examine the extent to which a palliative approach is being used in the organisation and provision of care to elderly people with complex needs in home and hostel settings.

These NSW grants are part of 10 research grants and 12 researcher support awards across Australia. In total, more than $3.5 million will go towards improving the quality of palliative care, informing policy development, improving clinical practice and developing researcher capacity and expertise.


Media contact: Cherie McLean, NHMRC, 02 6217 9346 or 0409 226 057
Senator Mason’s office, Carolyn Martin, 02 6277 3756 or 0423 826 768