Centre for Global Health Palliative Care

Cicely Saunders gave the world a vision of palliative care for all, however, palliative care is far from reaching all those who need it. The global need for palliative care is increasing rapidly, and the care gap is growing larger for low and middle-income countries, where populations are ageing in greater numbers than ever before.

Our multidisciplinary team partners with organisations and individuals around the world to improve palliative care for all. We strengthen healthcare systems by building research capacity, generating evidence, inform policy and deliver education with a focus on populations that are experiencing the fastest rise of suffering and need. Our key aims are:

To build meaningful partnerships and provide academic mentorship for the co-production of high-quality evidence that addresses local priorities and challenges.
To disseminate robust evidence to advocate for better policies and practices.
To drive access and quality in palliative care.
To build palliative care research capacity with our partner organisations.
To train future leaders in palliative care from around the world.

Members

Oladayo Afolabi

PhD student

Venetia Baker

Research Assistant

Hamid Benalia

Research Associate

Katherine Bristowe

Herbert Dunhill Lecturer

Emeka Chukwusa

Research Associate

Clare Ellis-Smith

Lecturer in Palliative Care

Ping Guo

Research Associate

Richard Harding

Herbert Dunhill Chair

Irene Higginson

Executive Dean, Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery & Palliative Care

Mevhibe Hocaoglu

Research Associate

Houshen Li

PhD student

Cheng-Pei Lin

Research Associate

Matthew Maddocks

Professor of Health Services Research & Rehabilitation

Veronica Murrey

PA to Professor Richard Harding

Kennedy Nkhoma

Global Health Research Fellow in Palliative Care

Adejoke Oluyase

Research Associate

Katherine Sleeman

Laing Galazka Chair in Palliative Care, Honorary Consultant in Palliative Medicine

globe top international csi project 780x450

Improving Access to High Quality Education to Develop Global Leaders in Palliative Care

The Edupall project aims to develop the MSc in Palliative Care, maximise access and build a future network of international leaders.

older man consultation csi project 780x450

Managing Care for Adults During Clinical Uncertainty in Community Hospitals

Development and feasibility evaluation of a new Symptom & Psychosocial Assessment & Communication Evaluation (SPACE) tool.

couple talking to nurse csi project 780x450

Methods for Researching End of Life Care - Processes of consent

Methods for Researching End of Life Care (MORECare) is developing best practice guidance and processes of consent for adults lacking capacity.

older men care home talking puzzle csi project 780x450

Optimising Palliative Care for Older People in Community Settings

OPTCare Elderly aimed to improve the quality of life for older people by developing a new short-term integrated palliative and supportive care service.

Developing a global practice-based framework of person-centred care from primary data: a cross-national qualitative study with patients, caregivers and healthcare professionals
Giusti, A., Pukrittayakamee, P., Alarja, G., Farrant, L., Hunter, J., Mzimkulu, O., Gwyther, L., Williams, N., Wannarit, K., Abusalem, L., Alajarmeh, S., Alrjoub, W., Thongchot, L., Janwanishstaporn, S., Edilbi, A., Al-Ani, R., Shamieh, O., Guo, P., Bashan Nkhoma, K., Venkatapuram, S. & 1 others, Harding, R., 13 Jul 2022, In: BMJ Global Health . 7, 7, e008843. Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review. DOIs: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjgh-2022-008843
Integrated primary palliative care in Nigeria- perspectives of patients, families and providers
Afolabi, O. A., Nkhoma, K., Soyannwo, O., Aje, A., Ogunniyi, A., Harding, R. & Maddocks, M., 11 Jul 2022, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Journal of pain and symptom management. Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review. DOIs: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2022.06.019
A systematic review of impact of person-centred interventions for serious physical illness in terms of outcomes and costs
Nkhoma, K. B., Cook, A., Giusti, A., Farrant, L., Petrus, R., Petersen, I., Gwyther, L., Venkatapuram, S. & Harding, R., 13 Jul 2022, In: BMJ Open. 12, 7, p. e054386 e054386. Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review. DOIs: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2021-054386
The most important components of out-of-hours community care for patients at the end of life: A Delphi study of healthcare professionals' and patient and family carers' perspectives
Goodrich, J., Tutt, L., Firth, A. M., Evans, C. J., Murtagh, F. E. & Harding, R., 29 Jun 2022, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Palliative medicine. 2692163221106284. Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review. DOIs: https://doi.org/10.1177/02692163221106284
'It's not just all about the fancy words and the adults': Recommendations for practice from a qualitative interview study with children and young people with a parent with a life-limiting illness
Marshall, S., Fearnley, R., Bristowe, K. & Harding, R., 29 Jun 2022, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Palliative medicine. p. 2692163221105564 Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review. DOIs: https://doi.org/10.1177/02692163221105564
A prospective cohort study assessing aggressive interventions at the end-of-life among patients with solid metastatic cancer
COMPASS study group, Malhotra, C., Bundoc, F., Chaudhry, I., Teo, I., Ozdemir, S. & Finkelstein, E., 16 May 2022, In: BMC Palliative Care. 21, 1, p. 73 73. Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review. DOIs: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12904-022-00970-z
Does the impact of bereavement vary between same and different gender partnerships?: A representative national, cross-sectional study
Timmins, L., Pitman, A., King, M., Gao, W., Johnson, K., Yu, P., Braybrook, D., Roach, A., Marshall, S., Day, E., Rose, R., Clift, P., Almack, K., Yi, D. H., Bristowe, K. & Harding, R., 27 May 2022, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Psychological Medicine. p. 1-9 9 p. Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review. DOIs: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291722000496
Building evidence and capacity in global health palliative care
Harding, R., 28 Apr 2022, In: ecancermedicalscience. 16, p. 1378 Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review. DOIs: https://doi.org/10.3332/ecancer.2022.1378
Mechanisms and contextual influences on the implementation of advance care planning for older people in long-term care facilities: A realist review
Zhou, Y., Wang, A., Ellis-Smith, C., Braybrook, D. & Harding, R., Sep 2022, In: International Journal of Nursing Studies. 133, p. 104277 104277. Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review. DOIs: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2022.104277
A Systematic Review and Narrative Synthesis of the Evidence Underpinning Theoretical Perspectives and Cultural Influences on Forgiveness in Palliative Care
Phoon, J., Tan, Y. P. & Harding, R., 20 Jun 2022, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Journal of palliative medicine. 25, 8, p. 1282-1308 27 p. Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review. DOIs: https://doi.org/10.1089/jpm.2021.0657

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Getting palliative care to those who need it

We are working with lower- and middle-income countries to introduce high quality, cost-effective palliative care into the health systems where people badly need it.

Read about how we are addressing the global need for palliative care.

Our partners

Our large global health programme is made possible through our local, national and global partnerships.

We have been a WHO Collaborating Centre for Palliative Care, Policy & Rehabilitation since 2008 and our research is funded by the ESRC, NIHR, Medical Research Council, World Health Organization and the Open Society Foundation.

We work with world-leading healthcare professionals across King's College London and support King’s Global Health Institute, ensuring that health care services are connected and fit for purpose.