Aging Palliative Care
Caring for People with Dignity
Republic of Ireland | Northern Ireland | United States | Viet Nam | 2004 - 2014
Palliative and hospice care provide enormous comfort to those near the end of their lives, can make life better for the chronically ill and eases burdens on families and caregivers. But the painful reality is that this care is not nearly as available as it should be, a condition that Atlantic has worked to remedy in a number of countries for many years. Grants made in the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, the United States and Viet Nam, supported efforts to train care specialists, create new care facilities and to raise awareness about the need for quality palliative care services.
What We Learned From This Work
Outside and comprehensive investment can spur government and the social sector to turn unfulfilled policies into new ways of providing care that make a real difference in the quality of life of people.
It is important to show how palliative care can reduce the cost of other health services as a way to attract greater public and private investment.
In funding an underdeveloped field, it is vital to take into account the state of practice and what's necessary to bring it to the next level. For example, some regions needed funding to train medical staff, others needed assistance in creating research and still others required different models of care.
An Injection of Compassion
Across the globe, Atlantic grantees have demonstrated new and better ways to serve those who need palliative care.
Creating Standards
Atlantic’s support for the Irish Hospice Foundation resulted in the production of “Quality Standards for End-of-Life Care in Hospitals,” a first for the European Union.
Building Capacity
As part of its overall investments, Atlantic underwrote new palliative care training programs and supported pilot efforts to model home-based care in the United States, Viet Nam and across the island of Ireland.
Thinking Differently
To provide better palliative care at lower cost, an Atlantic-supported program in the U.S. sent teams of physicians, nurses, social workers, chaplains and other workers to patients’ homes after being discharged.
Here’s Who’s Helping Write the Next Chapter in This Continuing Story
The Story Is Not New, But the Ending Can Be Different
Summaries of Case Studies, Evaluations & Reports
-
Building a Field: The Atlantic Philanthropies’ Investment in Palliative Care
Source: Mary Rafferty and Anne Colgan
This study captures the impact and lessons of Atlantic’s €58 million investment to help build the field of palliative care. It offers insights into what it takes to develop a community of organizations and individuals working towards a common goal using a shared body of…
Resource type: Research Report
-
Design & Dignity: How Irish Hospitals are Transforming Spaces for Patients and Families at the End of Life
Source: Susan Parker
This case study describes how Irish hospitals are creating quiet and peaceful spaces for family members when they are coping with difficult diagnoses or the death of loved ones. The Design & Dignity program was established by the Irish Hospice Foundation and the Health Service…
Resource type: Case Study
-
The Development of Palliative Care in the U.S.
Source: Sean Morrison
This short report provides a synopsis of the development of palliative care in the U.S. over the last 50 years. It includes a description of its beginnings in the early 1970s, influenced by hospice care in the United Kingdom; the impact of the 1982 Medicare…
Resource type: Research Report
-
Building Palliative Care: The Cicely Saunders Institute Journey
Source: Olivia Dix and the Cicely Saunders Institute
This case study looks at the work of the Cicely Saunders Institute (CSI) at Kings College London, U.K, and its impact on the field of palliative care since it was established in 2010; Atlantic was its largest funder. The Cicely Saunders Institute is the only…
Resource type: Case Study
-
Economics of Palliative Care: Evidence and Impact from Four Recent Studies
Source: Bridget Johnston, Charles Normand and Peter May
This report presents findings from four recent economic studies of palliative care. Three of the studies were funded by Atlantic; the fourth was funded by the National Cancer Institute and National Institute for Nursing Research in the United States, with the economic analyses conducted through…
Resource type: Research Report
-
Economic Evaluation of Palliative Care in Ireland
Source: Aoife Brick, Charles Normand, Sinéad O’Hara, Samantha Smith, Trinity College Dublin
This report examines the cost of providing palliative care in Ireland for individuals facing life-threatening illnesses, outcomes for patients and families resulting from that care, and the patterns and variations among the measures studied. Focusing their examination on three regional areas, researchers found: Wide variations in…
Resource type: Evaluation
-
The International Dimension of the Palliative Medicine Fellowship Programme
Source: Max Watson
How can fellowships in palliative care improve end of life care in rural communities? This report describes the experience of working with a fellow from Nepal as part of a global palliative care fellowship designed to create palliative care leaders with both the academic and…
Resource type: Case Study
-
Republic of Ireland
This book tells the story of how The Atlantic Philanthropies’ 30 years of investments had an extraordinary impact on the Republic of Ireland—from helping breathe life into the nation’s university system and its research capabilities, to supporting major advances in human rights, and spurring the…
Resource type: Insight
-
New Research Collection on Improving Access to Palliative Care
Sharing Knowledge, Finding Solutions As Atlantic Philanthropies makes its final philanthropic investments, it is asking some important questions, including: "How can we all build on the advances and lessons learned from our thirty-plus years of grantmaking?" and "How can we make sure that valuable knowledge on issues…
Resource type: News
-
The Hospice Friendly Hospitals Programme
Source: The Irish Hospice Foundation
While a majority of people in the Republic of Ireland say they would like to die at home, the reality is that almost half of all deaths occur in acute hospitals. The Hospice Friendly Hospitals Programme aims to ensure that end-of-life care is central to the mission of…
Resource type: Research Report
-
Northern Ireland
This book tells the story of Atlantic’s grantmaking in Northern Ireland, where it helped promote peace, reshape education, improve public services, and strengthen organizations to promote and protect people’s rights.
Resource type: Insight
-
Programme to Support Palliative and Hospice Care in the Republic of Ireland: Final Report
Source: Trinity College Dublin
Investment in end-of-life care has made Ireland a world leader in advancing palliative and hospice care but regional inequities persist, according to an evaluation by Professor Mary McCarron and colleagues at Trinity College Dublin. The evaluation examined The Atlantic Philanthropies’ End of Life programme –…
Resource type: Evaluation
-
A Baseline Study on the Provision of Hospice/Specialist Palliative Care Services in Ireland
Source: The Irish Hospice Foundation
This baseline study found a wide regional divergence in the range of services and care options available to people in the Republic of Ireland and also revealed a significant shortfall in government funding as well as a consequent lack of progress in the development of…
Resource type: Research Report
You Might Also Be Interested In
-
Aging Research
Atlantic has supported research to better understand the needs of an aging population.
-
Dementia
We've helped people with dementia get needed care while living at home, connected to family and community. The Global Brain Health Institute supports efforts to improve the practice of dementia care.
-
Health System Reform
Universal health insurance is key to helping improve the well-being of low-income people and people of color.
