Project Summary
This project focuses on implementing successful, innovative strategies to develop statewide community partnerships and engagement to address a critical need for palliative care services in Nevada. Despite the positive benefits of palliative care, the existence of these services in Nevada continue to be lower than in other states. Therefore, the aims of this project are to establish a patient-centered palliative care research network group and develop a patient-centered palliative care community. We will plan and organize activities to develop a network of healthcare professionals dedicated to increasing the availability of palliative care, to identify strategies to integrate the perspectives of patients and of caregivers, and to apply methods to engage policy makers to advocate for palliative care services. The stakeholders who play a critical role in providing care, advocacy, and education for those providing and receiving palliative care include patients, caregivers, providers of palliative care, policy makers, local and national palliative and hospice care organizations, and academic researchers. To convert our top research ideas into research questions, we will incorporate the perspectives, experiences, and efforts of patients, providers, and caregivers gained throughout the process of this project. The hope is that these questions will eventually lead to a potential comparative effectiveness research intervention for the ultimate, overarching goal of enhancing the access to, health insurance coverage and reimbursement for, and outcomes and satisfaction of patients who need palliative care services in our community.