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      Palliative and end-of-life care research

      The Palliative Centre’s research aims to improve quality of life, wellbeing and communication with people living with life-limiting illness and their families.

      Palliative and end-of-life care research

      The Palliative Centre’s research aims to improve quality of life, wellbeing and communication with people living with life-limiting illness and their families.

      Improving outcomes in palliative care

      The Palliative Centre strives to improve outcomes for people living with life-limiting illness through multidisciplinary research and collaboration. We conduct mixed methods research into palliative, supportive and bereavement services, to inform improved care delivery in a variety of settings.

      Our team’s research strengths are in optimal cancer pain management and enabling better advance care planning and communication about palliative care, with programs such as The Advance Project. The Centre also supervises PhD students’ research into areas including paramedicine in end-of-life care, pain management and the psychosocial aspects of care and spirituality.

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      Our palliative research team

      The Palliative Centre’s research specialists are leading the future of care for people with life-limiting illnesses.

      Prof. Josephine Clayton
      Prof Josephine Clayton

      Director of Palliative Care Research & Learning

       Prof. Melanie Lovell
      Prof Melanie Lovell

      Senior Academic

       Craig Sinclair
      Craig Sinclair

      Senior Research Fellow

       Dr Srivalli Vilapakkam Nagarajan
      Dr Srivalli Vilapakkam Nagarajan

      Research Fellow

       Dr Phil Austin
      Dr Phil Austin

      Postdoctoral Research Fellow

       Jon San Martin
      Jon San Martin

      Clinical Nurse Consultant

       Dr Robyn Keall
      Dr Robyn Keall

      Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner, Northern Sydney Community Palliative Care Team

       Dr Amy Chow
      Dr Amy Chow

      Braeside Hospital’s Director of Palliative Care and Palliative Care Research Lead

       Madeleine Juhrmann
      Madeleine Juhrmann

      Research Assistant

       Dr Claire Francisco
      Dr Claire Francisco

      Staff Specialist, Braeside Hospital

       Wei Lee
      Dr Wei Lee

      Staff Specialist, Northern Sydney
      Prof. Josephine Clayton
      Prof Josephine Clayton

      Director of Palliative Care Research & Learning
      Prof. Melanie Lovell
      Prof Melanie Lovell

      Senior Academic
      Craig Sinclair
      Craig Sinclair

      Senior Research Fellow
      Dr Srivalli Vilapakkam Nagarajan
      Dr Srivalli Vilapakkam Nagarajan

      Research Fellow
      Dr Phil Austin
      Dr Phil Austin

      Postdoctoral Research Fellow
      Jon San Martin
      Jon San Martin

      Clinical Nurse Consultant
      Dr Robyn Keall
      Dr Robyn Keall

      Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner, Northern Sydney Community Palliative Care Team
      Dr Amy Chow
      Dr Amy Chow

      Braeside Hospital’s Director of Palliative Care and Palliative Care Research Lead
      Madeleine Juhrmann
      Madeleine Juhrmann

      Research Assistant
      Dr Claire Francisco
      Dr Claire Francisco

      Staff Specialist, Braeside Hospital
      Wei Lee
      Dr Wei Lee

      Staff Specialist, Northern Sydney

      Selection of research funding and grants

      Our research specialists collaborate on several research projects yearly, including some listed here. For details on these projects, please refer to our annual research reports.

      Australian Government, Department of Health National Palliative Care Project

      Clayton J, Cunningham C, Tieman J, “The Advance Project: Initiating advance care planning and palliative care for people living with dementia through training and resources for care providers.” Awarded $1.2 million from July 2020 until the end of June 2023. Learn more about The Advance Project.

      Sinclair C, Kurrle S, Clayton J, Comans T, Auret K, Campbell E, Halcomb E, Helgeman M. “The Enhanced Advance care planning and life Review Longitudinal Intervention (EARLI) study: Increasing proactive care planning in Australian community aged care settings”. Awarded $955,828 over 5 years from 2022. 

      Clark K, Matsuoka H, Clarke S, Phillips J, Good P, Lovell M, Lee J, Le B, “An international, double-blind, dose increment, parallel-arm, randomised controlled trial of duloxetine versus pregabalin for opioid unresponsive cancer-related neuropathic pain: Phase III trial.” Awarded $978,610 from 2020 for three years. App ID: 1188023.

      Kizawa Y, Mori M, Clayton J, “The development and effectiveness of culturally-adapted advance care planning interventions: Building an Asian collaborative palliative care research network.” Awarded ¥18,460,000 (equivalent to $250,000 AUD) from October 2019 for six years.

      Lovell M, Austin P. “The effects of virtual reality on pain intensity in people with cancer pain.” Awarded $50,000 from April 2019 for 12 months.

      Lovell M, Boyle F, “Updating the Australian Cancer Pain guideline.” Awarded $50,000 from July 2019 for 12 months.

      Clayton J, Rhee J, Tieman J, Detering K, Mitchell G, Phillips J, Halcomb E, Morton R, Lewis V, “The Advance Project: Initiating palliative care and advance care planning through training and resources for primary care clinicians.”. Awarded $2 million from August 2017 until the end of June 2020.

      Phillips J, Shaw T, Lovell M, Davidson P, Boyle F, Lam L, McCaffrey N, “Improving Patient Reported pain Outcomes through mHealth Practitioner Training (I-PROMPT): A phase III wait-listed randomised control trial.” Awarded $342,483 from 2017 for three years. Grant ID: PdCCRS 1127011.

      Clayton J, Rhee J, Tieman J, Detering K, Halcomb E, Mitchell G, Phillips J, Shaw T, Morton R, “The Advance Project. Initiating palliative care and advance care planning: training and resources for General Practice Nurses.” Awarded $1,400,000 from 2016–2017.

      Butow P, Andrew G, Girgis A, Kelly B, Hack T, Clayton J, Price M, Beale P, Viney R, Kirsten L, “A sustainable and supported clinical pathway for managing anxiety and depression in cancer patients: developing and evaluating components and testing implementation strategies.” Awarded $3,643,992 from July 2015 for five years.

      Lovell MR, Phillips J, Agar M, Boyle FM, Davidson PM, Luckett T, Currow DC, Ryan L, McCaffrey N, Shaw T, “Implementing a national clinical pathway for pain to ensure equitable, cost-effective, evidence-based, person-centred care for people with advanced breast and other cancers.” Awarded $939,139 from November 2014 over four years.

      Contact us to find out more about any of our research projects

      Contact us

      Current research projects

      Palliative and supportive care

      • The Advance Project: Initiating palliative care and advance care planning through training and resources for primary care clinicians
      • The enhanced advance care planning and life review longitudinal intervention (EARLI) study: Increasing proactive care planning in Australian community aged care settings
      • Routine clinical assessment of psychosocial and existential symptoms in palliative care: A national quality improvement project through education and supervision
      • Improving palliative care for people with intellectual disability
      • Virtual reality in palliative care scoping study
      • Designing for early engagement and wellbeing in palliative care
      • Implementation and evaluation of an intervention to improve palliative and end-of-life care for residents in aged care homes: a mixed methods design
      • Broadening the role of paramedics delivering palliative and end-of-life care in the Australian community
      • Living after death: An exploration of the experiences of bereaved adults
      • Enhancing spiritual care at the end of life
      • Factors that influence understandings and beliefs about euthanasia and assisted suicide
      • From primary to specialist care settings: Understanding the role and needs of psychologists working with end-of-life issues

      Clinical trials and pharmacovigilance

      • Phase II double-blind, placebo-controlled study of oral delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Namisol®) for anorexia in people with advanced cancer
      • Randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase III trial of oral melatonin for the prevention of delirium in hospital in people with advanced cancer
      • Subcutaneous ketamine infusion in palliative care patients with advanced life-limiting Illnesses for major depressive disorder: A phase II pilot feasibility study
      • Randomised controlled trial of duloxetine versus pregabalin for cancer-related neuropathic pain: Phase III trial
      • A multi-centre double-blind randomised controlled trial of continuous subcutaneous lidocaine (lignocaine) for the management of neuropathic cancer pain – a feasibility study
      • Improving the management of inoperable malignant bowel obstruction. A phase II, multi-site, double-blind, randomised placebo-controlled feasibility trial of crushed oral famotidine
      • Rapid report of pharmacovigilance program

      Dementia

      • The Advance Project: Initiating advance care planning and palliative care for people living with dementia through training and resources for care providers
      • Communication-related experiences and needs of families for older people living with advanced dementia receiving end-of-life care: A systematic review and meta-synthesis of qualitative research
      • Optimising end-of-life care for people living with dementia: a qualitative study of residential aged care staff perspectives

      Cancer

      • A sustainable and supported clinical pathway for managing anxiety and depression in cancer patients: developing and evaluating components and testing implementation strategies
      • Cancer Pain Assessment Study
      • The effects of virtual reality on pain intensity in people with cancer pain
      • Make My Values Matter: Developing and testing a values question prompt list for cancer patients
      • Systematic review of aerobic and resistance exercise for pain in people living with advanced cancer

      Current collaborations

      Research Centres

      • Palliative Care Clinical Studies Collaborative (PaCCSC)
      • Centre for Medical Psychology and Evidence-Based Decision-Making
      • Improving Palliative, Aged and Chronic Care through Clinical Research and Translation (IMPACCT)
      • Cancer Symptoms Trial Group (a research collaborative within IMPACCT)
      • Psycho-oncology Co-operative Research Group (PoCoG)
      • Research Centre for Palliative Care, Death and Dying (RePaDD)

      Hospitals

      • Royal North Shore Hospital
      • Cabrini Health
      • St Vincent’s Hospital, Sydney

      Universities

      • University of Sydney
      • University of Technology Sydney
      • Flinders University of South Australia
      • La Trobe University
      • University of New South Wales
      • University of Queensland
      • University of Wollongong
      • Western Sydney University

      Other

      • CareSearch
      • Advance Care Planning Australia
      • Palliative Aged Care Outcomes Program

      International Collaborators

      • University of Edinburgh, UK
      • Cecily Saunders Institute, UK
      • Kobe University, Japan
      • Leiden University Medical Centre, The Netherlands

      Contact the Palliative Centre

      To learn more about our research projects, submit an online enquiry. If you are interested in partnering with us please visit our Research Governance page for more information.