Research
The Institute is dedicated to improving the science of palliative care through actionable research initiatives based on an interprofessional approach. Most importantly, the projects we lead or participate in must benefit patients and families and palliative care practice in general.
Compassionate Communities Research Demonstration Project
Thanks to a generous donation from the Fondation J.-Louis Lévesque, the Institute launched its first research project, Compassionate Communities Research Demonstration Project, in 2018.
Collaborating with several municipalities in Montreal, this project was built on community-based programs that provide supportive environments and linkages for citizens of all ages dealing with serious disease, health decline, grief, isolation, caregiver stress or who are in the later stages of their lives. The impact on quality of life of these community-driven activities was measured and the findings are being shared so that more communities can benefit.
The project research was led by Dr. Antoine Boivin, Canada Research Chair on Patient and Public Partnerships at the Université de Montréal. Dr. Boivin’s team was selected based on the expert guidance of the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Santé. The diversity and experience of the team is exceptional, with researchers from McGill University, University of Ottawa, Université du Québec à Montréal, Université de Sherbrooke, University of Bradford (United Kingdom), and other organizations.
The Institute continues to develop in the West Island region as we further grow our programs and share experiences across two distinct areas from a demographic perspective.
In 2023, we published our first article: “How Does Community Engagement Evolve in Different Compassionate Community Contexts?” which focuses on palliative care and social services.
In 2025, a second article: “Community Engagement in Public Health Palliative Care: A Comparative Ethnographic Study of Two Culturally Distinct Compassionate Communities in Canada,” – was accepted for publication in the Journal of Palliative Care & Social Practice.
Collaborative research projects
Each year, the Institute’s Research Committee selects at least one active internal research project or one collaborative research project with the goal of improving patient and family care.
In 2025, we completed a prospective study on prognosis using machine learning to further improve our algorithm for short-term prognosis in patients with terminal illnesses. Preliminary results were presented at the 19th World Congress of the European Association for Palliative Care in May 2025 in Helsinki, Finland. A full manuscript is currently in preparation and is expected to be submitted for publication in 2026.
In 2025, we also initiated a prospective multicentre study (three sites), sponsored by the Rossy Cancer Network, entitled Clinical and Psychosocial Profile of Patients Relocated for End-of-Life Care. Patient recruitment has been completed, and a manuscript will be submitted for publication at the end of 2026.
In 2025, we also conducted a retrospective study titled End-of-Life Delirium: Occurrence and Contributing Characteristics. A manuscript will be submitted for publication in the summer of 2026.
An international multicentre study (eight sites) to validate the algorithm for short-term prognosis in terminally ill patients will begin in the Fall of 2026.
Completed research projects include:
- Our first pan-Canadian research project was a collaborative study on cancer pain for which we contributed with 100 patients. We are named in the resulting research publication: “Edmonton Classification System for Cancer Pain: Comparison of Pain Classification Features and Pain Intensity across Diverse Palliative Care Settings in Canada”, published in the Journal of Palliative Medicine, Vol 26, #3, 2023, 366-375.
- A retrospective study of “Evaluation of the Use of Anticoagulotherapy in Cancer Patients in Palliative Care Residence”, published in Palliative Care Medicine Report, vol. 4.1 2023, 41-48. (It was also presented at the McGill International Palliative Care Congress, October 20-21, 2022.)
- “A Prospective Study with Patients and Families on the Usefulness of Accurate Prognosis for Palliative Care Patients”, published in Journal of Social Work in End-of-Life & Palliative Care, 2024, 1-14. (It was also presented at the Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association Conference, Ottawa, October 13, 2023.)
- A large prospective study “Can We Make More Accurate Prognoses During Last Days of Life?”, published in Journal of Palliative Medicine, Vol 27, #7, 2024, 895-904 and in the British Medical Journal Supportive & Palliative Care;13:A67. (It was also presented at the International Conference: European Association for Palliative Medicine (EAPC), Edinburgh, Scotland, March 9-10, 2023, and at the Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association Conference, Ottawa, October 13, 2023.
For more information, please contact us at info@ispm.ca
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