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updated: 4 November 2009
Transforming research into action: A European Parliament report on palliative care, Eurohealth Vol 15 No 2;2009:23-25
Jose M Martin-Moreno, Meggan Harris, Lydia Gorgojo, David Clark,
Charles Normand and Carlos Centeno
The authors of a European Parliament report on palliative care summarise the process of the five-month investigation, as well as the real and potential results of the study. Engaging a large number of national and international stakeholders, including ministries of health, national palliative care associations and the European Association for Palliative Care (EAPC), we were able to draw on a well of previous research and diverse experiences before formulating operative policy options for the EU and its Member States. While the report itself fomented some self-examination in the countries studied, its full exploitation by palliative care advocates is still pending.
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PUBLISHED AN INDEPENDENT REPORT ON THE SITUATION OF PALLIATIVE CARE IN THE EUROPEAN UNION, COMMISSIONED BY THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, AND WITH THE PARTICIPATION OF THE EAPC
It is with great pleasure that the EAPC share the news of the final publication in July 2008 of an independent report on Palliative Care in the European Union, which was commissioned by the European Parliament. The core research team was composed by Jose María Martin-Moreno (University of Valencia, Spain), Dr. Carlos Centeno (University of Navarra, Spain and chair of the EAPC Task Force on the Development of Palliative Care in Europe), Prof. David Clark (University of Lancaster, the UK), and Prof. Charles Normand (University of Dublin, Ireland) as well as Ms. Meggan Harris, Dr. Lydia Gorgojo (from the University of Valencia group).
The previous information collected by the Task Force and published in the EAPC Atlas (2007), the EAPC Review (2008) and several articles in scientific journals, the generous participation of Palliative Care National Associations, EAPC Board members and others Task Forces, as well as the participation of Ministries of Health, was a key in enabling to the group of investigators to present a current image of the palliative care field in Europe. In many places the report acknowledges the contribution already done by EAPC in order to achieve information on many topics and in particular the EAPC President, Lukas Radbruch.
In order to carry out the investigation, the team collected research data from numerous international surveys, comparative studies, and a systematic literature search. Then they contacted all Member State Ministries of Health and national palliative care associations, receiving answers from nearly forty organizations in twenty-six of the twenty-seven Member States. This amazing support allowed to include the most current, unpublished data in the report.
At the same time, the team of researcher apologise in advance for any unintentional inaccuracies which may have made it into the final report as well as the necessarily abbreviated nature of the same. Space limitations (50 pages) made it impossible to include much of the outstanding data which we received, and it was a huge challenge to condense the information on each country into approximately one page. Nevertheless, it has been tried to reflect the reality of each country in the space afforded and has carefully taken into account each and every response received.
This document is intended to be a tool for Members of the European Parliament, national policy makers, and researchers at a European level in their efforts to advance palliative care in Europe and the world. Continued efforts are vital to ensure the appropriate dissemination and consideration of this report among health authorities at the European Parliament level, and the EAPC Task Force encourage your active advocacy in this respect. Thank you in advance to collaborate with this important cause.
Access to the report is available as ‘pdf’ file online at:
http://tinyurl.com/6ogtz5
Carlos Centeno
Pamplona (Spain), July 2008
JOURNAL OF PALLIATIVE MEDICINE, Volume 11, Number 10, 2008
Announcements, Palliative Care in the European Union
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