A strategy to advance the evidence base in palliative medicine: formation of a palliative care research cooperative group.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Palliative medicine has made rapid progress in establishing its scientific
and clinical legitimacy, yet the evidence base to support clinical practice remains
deficient in both the quantity and quality of published studies. Historically, the
conduct of research in palliative care populations has been impeded by multiple barriers
including health care system fragmentation, small number and size of potential sites
for recruitment, vulnerability of the population, perceptions of inappropriateness,
ethical concerns, and gate-keeping. METHODS: A group of experienced investigators
with backgrounds in palliative care research convened to consider developing a research
cooperative group as a mechanism for generating high-quality evidence on prioritized,
clinically relevant topics in palliative care. RESULTS: The resulting Palliative Care
Research Cooperative (PCRC) agreed on a set of core principles: active, interdisciplinary
membership; commitment to shared research purposes; heterogeneity of participating
sites; development of research capacity in participating sites; standardization of
methodologies, such as consenting and data collection/management; agile response to
research requests from government, industry, and investigators; focus on translation;
education and training of future palliative care researchers; actionable results that
can inform clinical practice and policy. Consensus was achieved on a first collaborative
study, a randomized clinical trial of statin discontinuation versus continuation in
patients with a prognosis of less than 6 months who are taking statins for primary
or secondary prevention. This article describes the formation of the PCRC, highlighting
processes and decisions taken to optimize the cooperative group's success.
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https://hdl.handle.net/10161/3239Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.1089/jpm.2010.0261Publication Info
Abernethy, Amy P; Aziz, Noreen M; Basch, Ethan; Bull, Janet; Cleeland, Charles S;
Currow, David C; ... Kutner, Jean S (2010). A strategy to advance the evidence base in palliative medicine: formation of a palliative
care research cooperative group. J Palliat Med, 13(12). pp. 1407-1413. 10.1089/jpm.2010.0261. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/3239.This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this
article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
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Show full item recordScholars@Duke
Amy Pickar Abernethy
Adjunct Professor in the Department of Medicine
Amy P. Abernethy, MD PhDDirector, Center for Learning Health Care Director, Duke Cancer
Care Research Program Professor of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Division of Medical
Oncology, Duke University School of Medicine Associate Professor of Nursing, Duke
University School of NursingDr. Abernethy, a hematologist/oncologist and palliative
care physician, is Professor of Medicine in the Duke University School of Medicine,
Director of the Duke Center for Learn
This author no longer has a Scholars@Duke profile, so the information shown here reflects
their Duke status at the time this item was deposited.
Syed Yousuf Zafar
Adjunct Professor in the Department of Medicine
Dr. Zafar is a gastrointestinal medical oncologist and Associate Professor of Medicine,
Public Policy, and Population Health Science at the Duke Cancer Institute and Duke-Margolis
Center for Health Policy. He serves as Director of Healthcare Innovation at the Duke
Cancer Institute. Dr. Zafar also serves as Clinical Associate Director of Duke Forge
(Health Data Science Center). Dr. Zafar is considered an international expert in identifying
and intervening upon the financial burden of cancer ca
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