York researchers lead study to evaluate most effective support for end-of-life carers

Posted on 9 July 2012

A team of health scientists at the University of York has received funding from the Dimbleby Marie Curie Cancer Care Research Fund to research the educational needs of people providing end-of-life care to terminally ill relatives.

The 18-month study will draw together existing research exploring what family carers have found helpful and supportive when they are taught to care for people with cancer and other life-threatening illnesses. The aim is to develop a fuller and more extensive understanding of carers’ views, enabling better planning and teaching of future education programmes.

Principal Investigator Dr Kate Flemming, from the University’s Department of Health Sciences, said: “Family carers play a significant and important role in ensuring that people at the end of their life can be cared for in their own home. Carers often need to develop new skills such as how to provide physical care, how to manage symptoms such as pain or breathlessness, in addition to maintaining a balance between their own needs and those of the person they are caring for in order to remain well.”

For more information visit http://www.york.ac.uk/news-and-events/news/2012/research/end-of-life-carers/