Presentation

The purpose of the French National Platform for End-of-Life Research is to contribute to the structuring, development and promotion of French research in the field of end-of-life and palliative care.

Context

An indispensable driver for knowledge production and reflection on practice, research contributes to the evolution and improvement of healthcare practices and to the raising awareness among healthcare professionals and citizens to end-of-life issues.

From drug research to philosophy, economics, and public health, this field encompasses a wide variety of disciplines and approaches. However, likely due to its complexity and disciplinary fragmentation, it remains insufficiently structured at the national level and lacks international visibility.

The French National Platform for End-of-Life Research was established in 2018 to improve the quality of French research in this field and to facilitate exchanges among researchers, enabling greater collaboration around structuring projects and shared themes.

The Platform aims to foster interdisciplinary collaboration, promote collaborative approaches, and support methodological innovations that take into account the specificities of end-of-life situations and the vulnerabilities of patients.

It is funded by the Ministry of Higher Education and Research, the Ministry of Labor, Health, Solidarity and Families. It is supported by the Maison des sciences humaines et environnementales (MSHE) of the Université Marie et Louis Pasteur.

Following the reaffirmation of support for the Platform and its role in developing this field of research under the national plan for the development of palliative care and end-of-life support 2021-2024, its activities are continuing in line with measure 28 "Develop and support research" of the Ten-year strategy for supportive care 2024-2034 to strengthen palliative care, pain management and end-of-life support.

Download the document "Pour une action coordonnée sur la fin de vie"

A chronological wind-up by the Centre national soins palliatifs et fin de vie (CNSPFV) in its Atlas 2023.

Missions

Gather research strengths in the field of end-of-life.
Create spaces for interdisciplinary exchange and optimize links between researchers and clinicians at regional, national and international levels.
To promote awareness and recognition of end-of-life research, and to interest learned societies, research institutes and political decision-makers in it.
To propose strategic orientations for research.

Actions

Establish a research observatory

Maintain an online national directory of researchers.
Compile a database of research projects.
Developp a mapping of research teams.
Publish an annual overview of research activitites.
Keep track of ongoing PhD theses.
Conduct annual surveys.
Describe French scientific production.

Promote targeted calls for proposals

Identify priority emerging research areas.
Support research teams in preparing responses to these calls for proposals.
Engage with policymakers, research institutes, associations, and learned societies involved in the field of end-of-life care.

Animating the national scientific community

Organize conferences (scientific days, doctoral days), webinars, seminars and workshops.
Encourage network members to collaborate during national and regional meeting days and via the dissemination of announcements.
Provide active monitoring of scientific news (publications, events, calls for projects, calls for papers, calls for articles...) and disseminate this information.
Communicate to promote and highlight research work.
Develop international partnerships.

The Platform was exceptionally commissioned to coordinate a national study on end-of-life and death in nursing homes during the Covid 19 - pandemic (study COVIDEHPAD).