Research 101: A Practical Introduction to Understanding, Evaluating, and Applying Palliative Care Research to Your Clinical Practice (SA526)

Abstract

•Identify the rationale, strengths, weaknesses, and types of palliative care research questions that can be addressed by clinical trials, existing data analysis, and qualitative methods.•Discuss strategies for evaluating the quality of published research, as well as for leveraging research to inform clinical practice in hospice and palliative care. As hospice and palliative care continues to mature and expand, so does the evidence base supporting our discipline. Understanding how to interpret research is an important skill for all clinicians, yet keeping up with the state-of-the-science in research methodology can be daunting. In this session, we will demystify three methodologies commonly used in hospice and palliative care research: clinical trials, existing (aka secondary) data analysis, and qualitative methods. All participants, regardless of fluency in research, will benefit from attending this session. Our multidisciplinary, multi-institutional panel of palliative care researchers and clinician-researchers will use case-based approaches to explain each methodology, its strengths and weaknesses, considerations of using each method within the idiosyncrasies of hospice and palliative care, as well as the strategies that experts use to assess research quality. Dr. Ornstein, an epidemiologist, will discuss how quantitative data can and cannot be used to explore associations or to establish causality, touching upon concepts such as confounding and propensity score matching. Dr. Bakitas, a nurse-researcher, will explain the conceptual underpinnings of clinical trials, as well as common pitfalls in palliative care trials and their implications. Dr. Kavalieratos, a health services researcher, will provide an overview of qualitative designs often seen in the palliative care literature, illustrating their utility in both research and quality improvement. Lastly, Dr. Arnold will draw from his experiences as a clinician-administrator to provide examples of how to effectively apply findings from each type of study to clinical practice. By the end of this session, participants will have a practical grasp of clinical research concepts leaving them better equipped to interpret and translate research into patient care. Participants are encouraged to come ready with questions to be discussed in a moderated question-and-answer session.