Palliative Care Research

With more than $4 million in federal and foundation funding, the Palliative Care Research Program for Older Adults at the Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research ranks among the top 10 percent of long-term palliative care research programs around the world.

Palliative care is focused on relieving the pain and discomfort of patients with chronic and life-limiting illnesses. Our goal is to conduct high-quality clinical and health services palliative care research that will improve the quality of care provided to older patients and their families.

The program has a specific focus on research into palliative care provided to older adults and their families in the long-term care setting and related to advanced dementia.

Significant impacts and research focus areas include:

• Improving the care of patients with advanced dementia, including better access to hospice and nursing home reimbursement.
• Reducing the use of treatments that have little benefit, such as feeding tubes and antibiotics, and making sure that patient care is aligned with their wishes and the wishes of their families.
• Understanding and responding to the financial, emotional and day-to-day stressors for the families of patients suffering from advanced dementia.