Research priorities in palliative care

Using the Delphi technique, social workers, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, chaplains, doctors and two groups of nurses were surveyed to determine priorities for clinical research in palliative care. The total number of panellists was 1304 and, of these, 821 completed all three rounds of the survey. Problem statements were generated from data supplied by panellists in each of the six groups. Subsequent rounds were conducted to enable panellists to (a) rank questions to determine their top 10 priority items and (b) indicate those items for which their own professional group should take research leadership. None of the items identified as research priorities appeared in the top 10 lists of all six groups. However, a number of items were selected by several of the groups. These included multi-professional teamwork and symptom management. A number of items, including the needs of informal carers and aspects of spiritual care, were selected by only one of the groups.