Guest editorial: Integrating palliative research, education, policy and practice: the Irish experience

Abstract

Palliative care has traditionally been overshadowed both in terms of resources and profile by curative approaches to healthcare. However, in recent years, things have begun to change with hospice and palliative care increasingly being seen as essential activities that require sufficient investment to ensure that high-quality services can be accessed by those who require them. This special issue of the Journal of Research in Nursing recognises that palliative care is a key component of nursing, and further endorses the efforts being made to improve people’s experience in receiving palliative care. The increased recognition of the importance of palliative care puts an even greater onus on those of us who are involved in it to supply the highest quality of care which is underpinned by the best research evidence and framed by the most effective policies. The Journal of Research in Nursing’s recognition of the importance of the linkages between research, policy and practice is one of its great strengths. Such recognition is also the driving force behind an exciting new development taking place across the island of Ireland. In 2010, the All Ireland Institute of Hospice and Palliative Care was formally established. The Institute, which consists of a consortium of hospice and palliative care providers and universities, was set up to ensure that the strategic activities of education, research, policy and practice, which together offer the greatest potential to make real progress in building capacity and effecting change, are fully integrated across the palliative care communities in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The strategic aims of the Institute can be summarised under four headings.