Centre for Palliative Care Research and Education

Overview

The Centre for Palliative Care Research and Education (CPCRE) was established by Queensland Health to foster palliative care research and education across the state. It provides education in both the south-east of the state, and in rural, regional and remote areas. It sits within the Office of Research at Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital (RBWH).

The Centre’s research is led by its Director, Distinguished Professor Patsy Yates, and Clinical Research Program leader Professor Janet Hardy.

Distinguished Professor Patsy Yates, PhD, RN, FACN, FAAN is jointly appointed as Head, School of Nursing at QUT, Lead Researcher for the Cancer Nursing Professorial Precinct at Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital (RBWH), and Director for Queensland Health’s state-wide Centre for Palliative Care Research and Education. She also leads a large competitively funded research program focused on developing workforce capacity in cancer and palliative care, advancing the management of cancer related symptoms and treatment side effects, and strengthening the nexus between research, policy and practice in cancer and palliative care. Patsy is the immediate Past-President of Palliative Care Australia and is President of the International Society of Nurses in Cancer Care.

Professor Janet Hardy is Director of Palliative and Supportive Care at Mater Health Services and Cancer Program Leader in the Mater Research Institute. She holds a chair in Palliative Medicine from the University of Queensland. As Clinical Research Program Leader for CPCRE, she leads QPCRG, the Queensland Palliative Care Research Group. She has played a key role in PaCCSC (Palliative Care Clinical Studies Collaborative) since its inception and has lead clinical trials of pain and nausea within the collaboration. Her current major research interests are in defining a role for medicinal cannabis in symptom control, research methodology in palliative care, opioids in pain management and the use and abuse of corticosteroids.

CPCRE is currently involved in a study to determine the effects of medicinal cannabinoids in reducing symptom burden for people with a life-limiting illness.

Research

Research in palliative care plays a significant role in improving the experience of people living with a life-limiting illness. Professor Hardy and Distinguished Professor Yates are responsible for an extensive body of research in palliative and end of life care.

Nursing Professorial Precinct

The Cancer Care Nursing Professorial Precinct is a strategic collaboration between nurses in Cancer Care Services, RBWH and academics in the School of Nursing, Queensland University of Technology (QUT).  Led by Distinguished Professor Patsy Yates, the Precinct aims to build capacity for embedding research and innovation into day-to-day clinical practice and develop a world-class academic comprehensive cancer centre that improves patient outcomes. There is a thriving culture of research that delivers continuous service improvement and evidence-based care.