Professors Jay Shen (Community Health Sciences) and Abbie Kirkendall (Social Work) are conducting a project with nearly $15,000 funding from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) to form a Palliative Care Research Network in Nevada through a variety of community engagement activities.

The project will help build partnerships with the Dignity Health System, Nevada Palliative Care/Infinity Hospice, Elaine Wynn Palliative Care/Nathan Adelson Hospice, and other stakeholders focused on advancing patient-centered outcomes research in the area of palliative care. Palliative care is considered a new specialty across the country, particularly in Nevada. Research into patient outcomes and satisfaction would serve to improve the level of care for residents with life-limiting illnesses in the Silver State. Shen and Kirkendall, along with  professor Catherine Dingley (Nursing), who recently joined the research team, intend to expand the initial nine-month project and secure additional funding that could lead to palliative care interventions benefiting patients and care-givers throughout the state.