Results of the call for applications for the Interdisciplinary Research Program on the End of Life
Four consortia have been set up from 25 selected projects, with the aim of structuring French end-of-life research over the long term.
The Interdisciplinary Research Program on the End of Life is provided for by the ten-year strategy 2024-2034 for strengthening palliative care, pain management and end-of-life support. It is steered by the Agency for Health Research Programs entrusted to Inserm, with support from the National Platform for End-of-Life Research.
Meeting major challenges
This program aims to produce new knowledge, strengthen patients' capacity for expression and choice, improve care organizations and practices, inform public decision-making and bring together the research communities concerned, whether from the medical sciences or the humanities and social sciences. A call for applications to form consortia was launched on March 10, 2025. Closed on June 10, it has attracted remarkable commitment, with 78 letters of intent submitted (cf. article on our site).
An international scientific committee comprising experts from Switzerland, Belgium, Canada, Spain and the UK selected 25 projects on the basis of their scientific ambition, innovative character and interdisciplinary and participatory potential. These projects have been grouped together to form four interdisciplinary research consortia whose work will aim to transform the way we look at, practice and learn about the end of life (for details of the results, see the dedicated page on our site).
A total of 2.4 million euros has already been released by the Direction Générale de la Recherche et de l'Innovation (Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Space) to enable the program to get underway, and the search for additional funding is already underway to establish these consortia on a long-term basis in the research landscape.
Four consortia
A first consortium, entitled Suffering and lived experience at the end of life, brings together ten projects investigating multiple forms of suffering (physical, psychological, social and spiritual) in various care contexts. It aims to make visible suffering that is often unrecognized because it is poorly identified, and to strengthen the ability of professionals to respond to it.
The End-of-life trajectories and pathways consortium brings together six projects that explore the diversity of end-of-life experiences, both in mainland France and in the overseas territories, as well as the social, cultural and territorial determinants that shape pathways. They analyze existing models (hospital, home or institutional) and propose new ones, drawing in particular on primary care and citizen initiatives such as "self-help collectives".
Anticipating end-of-life issues and care improves patients' quality of life, yet access to palliative care remains late. The five projects selected for the Anticipation and Planning consortium aim to develop tools, professional practices and organizational approaches that promote earlier and more shared planning for the end of life. In particular, they explore advance care planning approaches, whether based on human organizations, physical devices or digital tools.
Finally, the four projects in the Death wishes at the end of life consortium examine the expression of death wishes through an interdisciplinary approach. They shed light on the clinical, relational, psychological, social and ethical dimensions, in order to improve support for patients, relatives and professionals faced with these requests.
Towards integrated scientific programs
With the support of the PRI operational team, each consortium is now preparing the scientific program that will guide its work until 2029, with the prospect of an extension until 2034. During this phase, the consortia will have to take particular care to ensure that their research is international in scope, develop innovative approaches and guarantee that the results of their work will benefit citizens, improve healthcare practices and inform public policy. The operational start of work is expected as early as April 2026.
More information:
Published November 23, 2025
Picto: Sumitsaengtong - Flaticon
