Primary Palliative Care Research Group

Centre for Population Health Sciences: GP Section

Recent Projects

• Dignity therapy for older people in care homes: assessing potential effectiveness, feasibility and acceptability. Dunhill Medical Trust, September 2008 - February 2010
• Improving end-of-life care in nursing homes. St Columba's Hospice, The Robertson Trust, Lothian Health, February 2007 - August 2008
• Identifying professional barriers and facilitators to discussing future care and preferred place of death with patients who have advanced cancer. Cancer Research, June 2008 - June 2009
• Evaluation of the impact of the palliative care initiative on individuals and their families in three country programme in Malawi, Uganda and Kenya. Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Trust, March 2009 - October 2009
• A breath of fresh air: improving care and services for patients living and dying with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and their carers. Chief Scientist office, Scottish Executive, April 2006 - September 2009
• Understanding the end of life care needs of South Asian minority ethnic and faith patients and their carers and families. Sheikh A, Grant E, Murray SA, Kendall M, Brown D, Adam J, Lawton J, Aslam N, Gardee R, Bhopal R. Chief Scientist Office, Scottish Executive,2007.
• Hockley J, Watson J & Murray S (2008) 'The Midlothian Gold Standards Framework in Care Homes project'. University of Edinburgh: Edinburgh
• Assessing and Improving Out-of-Hours Palliative Care in the Community: A Rapid Participatory Appraisal. Cameron Fergus, SpR in Palliative Medicine project, 2006.
• Working with patients and carers to develop an effective approach to the delivery of cancer palliative care in primary care. SHEFC and Chief Scientist Office Funding 2003 to 2006.
• The attitudes of patients, carers and professionals to diagnosis, treatment and end-of-life care in heart failure: a qualitative, community based interview study. DOH funding. 2004 to 2006.
• Living and dying with AIDS: the lived experiences of patients accessing and not accessing anti-retroviral treatment in Zambia. Perry Bequest. February 2004 to October 2005
• An evaluation of heart failure nurses and volunteers in care of people with severe heart failure. Chest Heart and Stroke, 2004 to 2006 September 2004 - 2005.
• What are the best ways to seek the views of people affected by cancer about end-of-life issues? Macmillan Cancer Relief, 2004.
• Improving care for people with advanced illness: a community based, prospective study of patients with inoperable lung cancer or end-stage heart failure and their families. Chief Scientist Office Funding. Completed 2001.
  See Murray SA, Boyd K, Kendall M, Worth A, Benton TF, Clausen H. Dying of lung cancer or heart failure: prospective qualitative interview study of patients and their carers in the community. BMJ 2002; 325: 929-932.
• Patient perspectives on spiritual issues and needs, the impact on health related quality of life, and implications for service provision. Chief Scientist Office Funding. Completed 2002.
• Improving out-of-hours palliative care in the community: the views of patients and their informal and professional carers . Chief Scientist Office Funding. Completed 2003.
• Dying in Kenya: qualitative interviews with patients with cancer and their carers. Perry bequest. Completed 2002. See
  Murray SA, Grant E, Grant A, Kendall M. Dying from cancer in developed and developing countries: lessons from two qualitative interview studies of patients and their carers. BMJ 2003;326:368-372.