Research project – CoPPAR Network

Establish a network for more effective and efficient delivery of paediatric palliative care research across the UK.

Evidence shows a lack of research in palliative and end of life care, particularly for children and young adults.

To address this, a bid was developed to form a Collaborative Paediatric Palliative Research (CoPPAR) Network.

Supported by key stakeholders such as Together for Short lives and the Association for Paediatric Palliative Medicine, the aim of the CoPPAR network is to foster research in the children’s palliative care sector, develop research partnerships and deliver national high-quality research.

Project Lead: Dr Lorna Fraser, University of York

Local Lead: Amanda Lee, Head of Strategy and Research Development at St Oswald’s Hospice

NIHR Palliative and End of Life Care Research Partnership

January 2022 – June 2023

Aim:

To develop a collaborative UK wide paediatric palliative care research network (CoPPAR) that will deliver national high-quality research studies, education and build research capacity.

Objectives:

  1. To work with 7 paediatric palliative care sites (hospice and hospital based) to develop research readiness using methods that can be scaled up to the other hospices and NHS paediatric palliative care sites.
  2. To deliver a series of educational webinars on the key components of research activity.
  3. To set up process by which those developing and delivering research studies can access a network of PPI partners.
  4. To offer mentor opportunities for paediatric palliative care staff who are interested in developing a research career to apply for fellowships including NIHR pre-doctoral or doctoral awards.
  5. To develop guidance on the appropriate methods to undertake research in palliative and end of life care in children.
  6. To develop a minimum of 2 bids for stage 2 of the NIHR Commissioned call on palliative and end of life care.

Qualitative methods

The vision of CoPPAR is that it will become the single point of information for all paediatric palliative care research across the UK that can be accessed by researchers, clinicians, parents and young people, and policy makers to enable more effective and efficient delivery of research in this sector.

In March 2022, CoPPAR held its first webinar to introduce the network and explore the idea of research and its importance in the children’s palliative care sector.

The network has since delivered a programme of webinars. Click to watch here.