New book explores hospice and palliative care interventions

Behavioral Intervention Research in Hospice and Palliative Care: Building an Evidence Base sets forth research considerations and guidelines to build evidence-based interventions to improve end-of-life care.

The new book by George Demiris, PhD, a Penn Integrates Knowledge Professor in Penn Nursing’s Department of Biobehavioral Health Sciences, is an in-depth introduction to implementation research and showcases how a clinical need is identified to inform an intervention. The book extensively examines the various phases of intervention research, including design, implementation, evaluation, dissemination and translation. The book focuses on methodological, ethical and practical issues in order to:

• Inform readers how to conduct intervention research toward identifying best care;

• Advise readers on design, implementation and evaluation of research; and

• Provide step-by-step templates to develop an intervention study.

It includes mock protocols from successful intervention trials and synthesizes lessons learned by established intervention researchers in hospice and palliative care.

“The science behind the quality of hospice and palliative care lags behind that of traditional medical practice, despite the continuous growth of palliative care interdisciplinary teams,” said Demiris. “Researching, developing and testing strategies is essential to advancing the effectiveness and value of this care.”

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Debra Parker Oliver, PhD, and Karla T. Washington, PhD, both of the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Missouri, served as co-authors.

The University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing is one of the world’s leading schools of nursing. For the fourth year in a row, it is ranked the #1 nursing school in the world by QS University and is consistently ranked highly in the U.S. News & World Report annual list of best graduate schools. Penn Nursing is currently ranked # 1 in funding from the National Institutes of Health, among other schools of nursing, for the second consecutive year. Penn Nursing prepares nurse scientists and nurse leaders to meet the health needs of a global society through innovation in research, education, and practice. Follow Penn Nursing on: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, & Instagram.