Research Project on the future of Advanced Cancer Care in Fife

Sometimes, particularly in the case of our larger grant awards, it’s a balancing act for us to report on the award outcomes, often because these awards are for projects which have a longer life span and happen over a period of time, for example, the development of a roof garden or a funded research project.  The project Palliative Care Research an example of the latter. 

This major research project consisted of two main strands; Understanding the Reality of Community-Based Palliative Care in Fife during the COVID-19 pandemic (from a patient and care-giver perspective) and Improving Advanced Cancer Care in Fife for the Future, through high quality research demonstrating what matters most to patients, families and carers.  These projects both centred round studies of Fife participants and whilst much of the outputs were science based and technical in nature, equally there have been tangible positive outcomes and impact for the public; namely

• Lay report written for participants
• In person event for bereaved participants
• Influenced national strategy (2025)
• NHS Inform patient and caregiver information pages -co-written with Fife bereaved family and MDT colleagues (NHS, HSCP, 3rd sector)
• Development of a Palliative Cancer Care Summary for all newly diagnosed cancer patients
• Development of the NHS Fife “Your guide to Palliative Cancer Care in Fife”

Fife Health Charity recognises the importance of research. As stated in our 5 Year Strategy (Fife Health Charity Strategy 2024-2029) we will support  ‘applied health research and innovation with the aim of reducing health inequalities by supporting approaches focused on early intervention and prevention.’ The research work completed by the Palliative Medicine Team is a key example of our meeting on of our strategic aims of funding research to improve patient’s experience.