2010 EAPC Research Congress
SWHPN Board Member Debra Parker Oliver contributing on her experience at the 6th Research Congress of the European Association of Palliative Care (EAPC).
I was fortunate enough to attend the EAPC Research Congress held June 10-12, 2010, in Glasgow, Scotland. This is my second EAPC meeting and both have been very worthwhile. It’s always fun to be with other palliative care professionals, but there is something about realizing it’s a worldwide passion that can re-ignite the sparks!
The conference venue was a building that looked like the famous Sydney opera house! It was very elaborate and quite massive. The Scots were very interested in assuring that everyone had a great time so, on top of the great conference offerings, we had terrific hospitality as well. The conference started off with a procession to the venue from the registration and exhibit hall accompanied by bagpipes. After introductions and the customary welcome, we were entertained by a rock-n-roll bagpipe group, “The Red Hot Chili Pipers”. If you have not heard this group I encourage you to check them out on YouTube. Their music is for everyone and unlike anything in the U.S.!
I focused my sessions on those related to research methods and caregiving in palliative care. Again, I learned that many of our issues in American research also plague Europe, with the same gaps in knowledge and the same challenges in recruitment and management of randomized control designs. The hundreds of posters on display also reinforce the many commonalities we have in the world with explorations of research questions across the globe that would be equally pertinent in the US.
The highlight of the conference (besides the bagpipes) for me was a session on international collaboration. Panelists from palliative care organizations across the world talked about care and research in their country and the need to work together. From the U.S., Dr. Sean Morrison, President of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine spoke. Dr. Morrison noted that while the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) had identified palliative care as a priority, we have an immediate challenge in getting adequate scientific review of our proposed work. Of the 200 review panels charged with evaluating the scientific components of proposals to NIH, there are only five panels that include a palliative care researcher (that’s a mean of only 1.6 per panel). Likewise, he reported that there were currently only 114 active NIH grants in palliative care and that the $30,031,914 in funding represented only .098% of the total NIH budget.
The EAPC conference is offered annually—the odd years it takes a clinical focus and the even years it is focused on research in palliative medicine. I left the conference so thankful that I had the opportunity to meet others from across the world with my interests and with similar challenges. I was awed in the meeting of researchers whose textbooks and research I have read and have inspired my own. Most importantly I left Scotland feeling a part of a very large global community committed to the same passion I have, improving care for those facing the end of life.