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Background: Research evidence suggests that a lack of engagement with palliative care and advance care planning could be attributed to a lack of knowledge, presence of misconceptions and stigma within the general public. However, the importance of how death, dying and bereavement are viewed and experienced has been highlighted as an important aspect in enabling public health approaches to palliative care. Therefore, research which explores the public views on strategies to facilitate engagement with palliative care and advance care planning is required. Methods: Exploratory, qualitative design, utilising purposive random sampling from a database of participants involved in a larger mixed methods study. Online semi-structured interviews were conducted (n = 28) and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Thematic findings were mapped to the social-ecological model framework to provide a holistic understanding of public behaviours in relation to palliative care and advance care planning engagement. Results: Three themes were generated from the data: "Visibility and relatability"; "Embedding opportunities for engagement into everyday life"; "Societal and cultural barriers to open discussion". Evidence of interaction across all five social ecological model levels was identified across the themes, suggesting a multi-level public health approach incorporating individual, social, structural and cultural aspects is required for effective public engagement. Conclusions: Public views around potential strategies for effective engagement in palliative care and advance care planning services were found to be multifaceted. Participants suggested an increase in visibility within the public domain to be a significant area of consideration. Additionally, enhancing opportunities for the public to engage in palliative care and advance care planning within everyday life, such as education within schools, is suggested to improve death literacy and reduce stigma. For effective communication, socio-cultural aspects need to be explored when developing strategies for engagement with all members of society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Palliative care day services provide a safe environment for people with palliative care needs, enabling them to access a range of services while acting as a respite services for family caregivers. Viewed as marginal services, they are often under resourced and under researched. The aim of this study was to understand how palliative day care services contribute to client care from the perspective of management and hospice multidisciplinary teams. Methods: A descriptive qualitative study, using six focus groups conducted with staff at three United Kingdom hospices in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Thirty-five participants were recruited, including management and staff. Discussions were transcribed and analysed thematically. Results: Four key themes emerged: (1) variations of care, beyond heterogeneity of patients; (2) unclear referrals and inconsistent patient population; (3) recognising strengths and challenges and (4) an uncertain future. A major focus of group discussions was the model of care and the benefits of the service, however the importance of demonstrating services' effectiveness and value for money was highlighted. Conclusions: Management and hospice staff believed day-services to be a helpful introduction to palliative care, providing both social and medical support. Economic pressures and patient demand were influencing them to move from a social model to a hybrid model. Further research is needed to understand the effectiveness of the service. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the number of healthcare assistants (HCA) in employment has continued to increase, the provision of training and development for this role has, to date, been largely dependent upon the discretion of individual employers. In response to this, the Department of Health and Children in Ireland decided to establish a national training course for HCAs and commission its evaluation. As part of this evaluation, the views of the trainees on the national training course were explored. The behaviour, attitudes and experience of these trainees were explored, as was their perception of the relevance of the training course to their role in employment as a HCA. One-to-one semistructured interviews with 22 randomly selected trainees were conducted. All interview respondents felt that the training course had been beneficial. Findings indicated positive changes in practice following their training. The interview respondents indicated that they felt more confident in their ability to undertake delegated duties and believed that the skills learned on the course would be useful to them in their future work. Other issues, such as course duration, selection procedure and level of assessment, caused some dissatisfaction. The training course led to a significant improvement in the trainees’ knowledge and care skills. Suggestions for changes to the course from the trainee's perspective include amending the trainee selection procedure and improving the organization and content of the course and follow-up support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

mckenna hp, keeney s&hasson f (2005) Journal of Clinical Nursing14, 426–434Views on the ground: teaching and clinical assessors’ views on vocational training for healthcare assistants in IrelandThis paper reports the views of teaching staff and clinical assessors on their experience of programme delivery and assessment.In 2001, the Irish Department of Health and Children developed a vocational training programme for healthcare assistants. This programme was piloted nationally across 14 hospital and community sites. Teaching staff and clinical assessors at each site delivered the programme.One-to-one semi-structured interviews were undertaken with 16 clinical staff and 26 teaching staff. With consent, all interviews were tape-recorded, from which the transcripts were subject to content analysis.A lack of experience and preparation among teaching staff and clinical assessors was evident. The staff's commitment to their role on the programme while maintaining their normal duties caused frustration and uncertainty. Not withstanding, the value of the programme in terms of increased motivation, satisfaction and knowledge of healthcare assistants and the impact on care delivery, was recognized by respondents.This programme represents the provision of a national standard training programme for healthcare assistants. It provides an insight into the delivery of such a programme and the educational and training needs of healthcare assistants through the views of staff that taught and assessed on it.Findings suggest that the development and implementation of a national training programme for healthcare assistants is achievable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and objectives: The need to provide an empathic response to the care of people with dementia has long been advocated. Virtual reality‐based programmes continue to gain momentum across health sectors, becoming an innovative tool that provides staff with the opportunity to experience a dementia‐like experience within a relatively short time frame. The purpose of this study is to explore the impact of an interactive training experience on moral, emotive, behavioural and cognitive elements of empathy. Research design and methods: A qualitative exploratory design was adopted employing purposive sampling to identify participants, aged over 18 years, who participated in the Virtual Dementia Tour (VDT®) programme. Interviews were conducted over a two‐month period, and qualitative thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. Results: The four components (moral, emotive, behavioural and cognitive) of empathy were reflected in findings. Overall the interactive training programme was perceived as useful, and emotionally, it provided an opportunity to "imagine what it is to live with dementia," enabling a cognitive, moral and behavioural reflection to occur, enhancing the empathic state. Discussion: In this study, the VDT® provides a different way of learning, with participants reporting the emergence of an empathic response. Results suggest that the emotional response laid the foundations to the behavioural or cognitive (objective and subjective) reaction which was underpinned by a moral reaction. Implications for practice: Virtual reality programmes are one step in the process for healthcare professionals caring empathetically for people with dementia; however, further research is required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Globally the state of palliative care research remains uncertain. Questions remain regarding impact, funding, and research priorities. Building upon previous research, this review examines palliative care research in Ireland and contributes to a wider international debate on the state of palliative care research. Methods: A systematic mapping review was undertaken. Eight bibliographic databases and thesis repositories were searched from May 2012 to April 2017. Palliative care related search terms were combined with "Ireland" or "Irish" to increase search sensitivity. Inclusion criteria were applied by two independent reviewers. Descriptive analysis was completed using IBM SPSS v23. Thematic analysis was undertaken using a data-driven approach to develop new themes. Results: In total, 808 studies were screened and 151 papers from 117 studies were included for review. The top two areas of research focus included: (1) specific groups, services, and settings (n = 70); and (2) identification, communication and education (n = 37). A diverse variety of research methods were used including mixed methods (25%), surveys (22%), interviews (20%), and reviews (17%). One randomised control trial was conducted. The predominance of research papers focused solely on health care professionals (n = 35%), and the community setting was the most frequent location for data collection (41%). The majority of data was collected across the two jurisdictions of the Republic of Ireland (ROI) and Northern Ireland (NI) (37%), and 23% of studies included data outside of Ireland and the UK. The most frequent sources of funding were: consortiums (n = 40); government (n = 24); and philanthropic bodies (n = 20). Forty percent (n = 60) of papers were either unfunded or did not acknowledge a funder. Conclusions: There is a continued increase in palliative care research in Ireland with increased collaborative working nationally and internationally. The quantity and impact of research has increased from the previous review, which can be attributed to significant investment in research funding and collaborative networks. However, research gaps continue to exist including out of hours' care, physical and psychological symptom control, intervention studies, and the patient and family perspective. Areas for attention include the need to ensure knowledge exchange and demonstrate impact of the research on patient and family carer outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Allied health professions constitute a large and growing proportion of the healthcare workforce. As a collective they are involved in complex care interventions often within multidisciplinary teams and increasingly in community settings. Even though reliable information is lacking, some professions do appear to have developed an active research culture, whereas others are more limited in terms of research., Purpose: This paper reports on the comparative findings of two Delphi studies, one in Northern Ireland and one in the Republic of Ireland, undertaken between 2008 and 2011. The aim of both studies was to identify research priorities for six of the therapy professions., Method: A classic Delphi approach was used involving expert panels from the therapy disciplines, service users, and key stakeholders., Results: Both studies provided rich sources of data. Areas of commonality included the evaluation of practice generally and specific interventions common to each of the professions. More effective service management and health promotion research were also identified as important in both countries., Conclusions: As the global number of allied health professionals increases, along with the need for them to support their practice with sound evidence, the findings from this paper have international implications.