The following lists palliative care research primarily conducted by Australian research groups. The list is based on application of the CareSearch search filter for palliative care to identify articles held within the PubMed database and corresponding to the strongest evidence. Articles have been selected based on relevance and new articles are added on a weekly basis.
Whilst not an exhaustive list, the aim is to keep the community informed by providing a snapshot of recent research findings and planned studies in the Australian setting.
Banks S, Lee B, Ayres N, Schrader S, Thomson B, Loveday BPT, et al.
Introduction: Optimal care pathways (OCP) were developed in Australia as a framework to define quality and timeliness targets. The 2022 National Pancreatic Cancer Roadmap highlighted a paucity of population-level data on pancreatic cancer management in Australia, such that compliance with OCP targets is uncertain. This study used real-world data to compare pancreatic cancer care in Victoria, Australia, against OCP targets.
Methods: Data collected on pancreatic cancer patients between January 2016 and July 2025 were extracted from the PURPLE registry for five Victorian tertiary hospitals. Care processes and timeliness outcomes were compared with OCP benchmarks.
Results: 1878 patients were identified, with a median age of 70 years. At diagnosis, 41% had metastatic disease and 69% were ECOG performance status 0-1. Median interval from diagnosis to surgery was 20 days (OCP benchmark ≤ 28 days) with 60% of patients operated on within the timeframe, and to adjuvant therapy 55 days with 88% of patients receiving chemotherapy within the OCP benchmark of ≤ 84 days. However, just 33% received neoadjuvant chemotherapy, and 38% received palliative chemotherapy within the 28-day timeframe for commencing systemic treatment. Palliative care referral occurred in 65% of patients with advanced disease and 61% were discussed at a multidisciplinary meeting. Marked inter-site variation was evident across metrics.
Conclusion: In Victoria, Australia, pancreatic cancer care variably met OCP targets. Real-world registry data can identify domains of care where performance is strong and highlight opportunities for process improvement and resource optimisation. Where OCP targets are rarely achieved, these findings support review of their real-world feasibility.
Dhanapriyanka M, Pritchard L, Zamora A, Torwane N, Schuch HS, Ha DH, et al.
Introduction: The global rise in population ageing challenges health systems, including oral health, which is integral to overall health and quality of life. Although the World Health Organization advocates integrated care for older adults, evidence on national models integrating oral health into broader health strategies remains limited.
Aim: This review aimed to synthesise evidence on approaches that integrate oral health into general health national policy frameworks, focusing on older adults.
Methods: A scoping review was conducted using electronic searches of government domains via Google and Google Advanced in English- speaking countries, supplemented by searches of the Analysis and Policy Observatory database. Inclusion criteria were based on Population: older adults; Context: national- level health policy frameworks; Concept: integration of oral health.
Results: Of the 2616 documents retrieved from 52 countries, 1964 were screened, and 28 documents with oral health incorporated were included. The focus areas of the included documents were palliative care, mental health, disease prevention, chronic diseases, nutrition, and healthy ageing. Across the 28 included documents, oral health was mentioned in the context of 24, with nine of these referring to it only in the policy context. Oral health appeared under an objective or strategy in five documents, as an activity in three, as an indicator in two, and as a recommendation in nine documents. Oral health stakeholder representation was limited.
Conclusion: This rev iew identified th at the integration of oral health within broader nat ional health policies targeting older adults remains largely superficial, underscoring the need for deeper and more meaningful integration and intersectoral collaboration.
Mascio R, Lynch S, Phillips J, Best M.
Objectives: There is a growing need to enhance healthcare providers' spiritual care competence, including for people receiving palliative care. A preceding study of predictors of spiritual care competence in a general group of nurses found that more competent nurses rated significantly higher in spiritual training adequacy, frequency of spiritual care provision, and personal spirituality than other nurses; like the demographic variables of level of education, length of nursing experience, and sex, confidence and comfort in providing spiritual care were not related to spiritual care competence. The current study aimed to replicate these relationships in a sample of palliative care nurses. This sample also allowed the testing of a hypothesis that palliative care nurses will tend to subscribe to more competent understandings of spiritual care.
Methods: Data were collected from a convenience sample of Australian palliative care nurses who completed an anonymous, online survey. The survey provided qualitative data about what spiritual care means for them and quantitative data regarding nurse characteristics. The qualitative data were used to create sub-groups of nurses based on their understanding of spiritual care and the quantitative data were used to construct a profile of nurse characteristics for each sub-group. The replication analysis determined whether a statistical difference in nurse characteristics existed across sub-groups. The hypothesis testing compared levels of spiritual care understanding across the general and palliative care samples of nurses.
Results: While the results of the palliative care sample are largely concordant with those obtained in the general sample, the current study amends "training adequacy" as a predictor of spiritual care competence to "experience (whether on-the-job or training) in caring for the dying." The study hypothesis was supported.
Significance of Results: The results can be used to assess and develop competence in spiritual care for palliative care nurses.
Perera M, Parsonage W, Yates P, Singh GK.
Background: Palliative and supportive care provided in the home for individuals with heart failure and their carers can improve quality of life, reduce symptom burden and hospital admissions. However, how to enable this care in accordance with what matters to individuals living with heart failure and their carers remains elusive. This research aimed to explore the experiences, perspectives and preferences of individuals with heart failure and their carers on home-based palliative and supportive care.
Methods: A qualitative study using semi-structured interviews was conducted with individuals with heart failure and carers, recruited from two tertiary care hospitals in Queensland, Australia.
Results: A total of eleven individuals with heart failure and ten carers participated. Their age ranged between 40– 84 years. Most participants were female (n = 14, 66.7%). The themes derived from thematic analysis centred on: a) diverse strategies for seeking emotional support, b) acknowledging the importance of carers, c) effective information and communication, d) the value of home-visits, e) telehealth enhances care f) a circle of care: health professionals and social services supporting the individual and carer, and g) planning for future care.
Conclusion: Insights into the perspectives, experiences and preferences of individuals with heart failure and their carers are critical to delivering patient and carer centred palliative and supportive care in the home. Providing emotional support to individuals with heart failure, supporting carers, utilising telehealth, and enhancing the circle of care through better communication is required to deliver palliative and supportive care in the home in accordance with what matters to individuals with heart failure and their carer.
Gurgenci T, Olson R, Smith A, Stokes C, Good P. D.
Abstract: This article introduces a framework of contextual effectiveness to reconcile the persistent gap between patients’ positive experiences with treatments and negative clinical trial outcomes in palliative care. Using medicinal cannabis as an illustrative example, we challenge the statistical assumption that averaging patient responses yields a reliable “true effect” for subjective outcomes like quality of life. We argue that treatment effects vary not only between patients but also within the same patient across contexts and time. While averaging approaches remain valid for discrete symptoms (e.g., pain), a patient’s reported improvement in overall well-being in specific situations may reflect genuine contextual effectiveness rather than placebo or misattribution. Highly individualized findings complicate guideline and funding decisions; hence, we propose a dual-pathway model for evidence generation: traditional randomised controlled trials (RCTs) for population-level efficacy, followed by post-trial contextual surveillance studies (CSS) that empower individualized patient-clinician decisions. This framework maintains scientific rigor while enabling more person-centered care. By recognizing that a patient may be both a “responder” and “non-responder” depending on life context, we offer a paradigm shift in how subjective outcomes are understood, evaluated, and applied in palliative care practice.
Last updated 30 April 2024