Research Opportunity- University of Surrey

The Health and Social Care Division is a leading provider of undergraduate (nursing, midwifery, operating department practice and paramedic education from September 2009), postgraduate and post registration healthcare education, research and consultancy. Research activities are focused on a range of areas within health services research including cancer care, care of older people and management of chronic diseases, service organisation and delivery, service evaluation and workforce development. The Division has extensive links with local health care providers. We have been awarded funding for research into the consequences of cancer and its treatment and future care provision. You will work closely with the Principal Investigator to achieve the research milestones. This will include recruiting participants to the study, preparing the research for ethical review, data collection, data analysis and writing up the project under the supervision of the Principal Investigator. You will have experience in mixed methods research, interviewing patients and also experience of working with clinicians and clinical teams. You will also have the ability to work well in a team, and have good communication, interpersonal and organisational skills.

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Spiritual care recommendations for Black and minority ethnic groups

In November last year, the Department of Palliative Care, Policy and Rehabilitation at King’s College London (KCL) hosted a symposium on the spiritual care of people from sub-Saharan Africa receiving palliative care within in the UK, supported by the COMPASS collaborative and the Sir Halley Stewart Trust. The symposium, the first of its kind, was designed to bring together experts on the spiritual care of people from Black and minority ethnic (BME) groups in order to contribute to a set of spiritual care recommendations for people from BME groups in the UK.

Thirty stakeholders, invited for their expertise in the areas of spiritual care, public health, HIV support, community care and palliative care, attended the event. Speakers included Prof Margaret Holloway, Professor of Social Work and Director of the Centre for Spirituality Studies at the University of Hull and Social Care Lead for National End of Life Care Programmes, practitioners from chaplaincy and social work from London and Birmingham, and Lucy Selman (project lead) and Dr Richard Harding from the Department of Palliative Care, Policy and Rehabilitation at KCL. In the afternoon sessions, group work was conducted to discuss the draft recommendations, identify examples of good practice and develop quality indicators for spiritual care.

The spiritual care recommendations are now finalised, with a foreword from Archbishop Desmond Tutu. The report on the recommendations will be launched by the Department of Palliative Care, Policy and Rehabilitation and Cicely Saunders International in May 2010, and will be available on the Department website:

For more information on the symposium, click here

Contact Lucy Selman

National Cancer Survivorship Inititaive: Final Reports

Determining Research Priorities for Cancer Survivoship: Consultation and Evidence review:Richardson et al: Technical Appendicies 1: Wellbeing Scoping Review Final
Technical Appendicies 2: Consultation Final
Technical Appendicies 3: Solutions scoping review

New Combined Compass/CECo Conference Announced

Depression and anxiety are common in patients with advanced disease and may result in negative outcomes such as poorer symptom control and increased distress to the patient and family.

The importance of integrating good quality, evidence based psychological care and palliative care is increasingly being recognised and has led to research investigating the effects of both psychological and pharmacological interventions for common mental disorders in this patient group.

This one day conference, hosted by the Royal Society of Medicine, in association with CECo and the COMPASS collaborative is an opportunity to update your knowledge on the latest research in interventions for common mental disorders in advanced disease, with presentations from leading researchers and clinicians working in this field.

The programme for the day and booking information is available through the Royal Society of Medicine website

Draft Depression Guideline - comments wanted!

Researchers at King’s have developed a clinical practice guideline on the management of depression in palliative care. This work was undertaken on behalf of the European Palliative Care Research Collaborative (EPCRC), which aims to improve the assessment and treatment of pain, depression and cachexia.

The draft guideline is now open to consultation and professionals are invited to comment on the provisional recommendations.

Click here to download The Management of Depression in Palliative Care
Click here to download Consultation Comments
Click here to download Draft Guidelines: Comments wanted.