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The discipline of palliative care focuses on improving quality of life for patients with advanced, life-limiting illness. Palliative care has gained increasing recognition (e.g. through the creation of ACGME fellowships, accreditation of clinical programs by the Joint Commission, and increasing support for research from NIH). In the past 5 years, Duke has developed increasing strength in palliative care research, education, and clinical care. This charter for the DCPC builds on this developing capacity, and is an important next step in solidifying Duke’s position as a leader in this area.
The DCPC draws on Duke’s strengths in research, clinical care, and education, connecting faculty and developing opportunities for synergy. Although this proposal describes a small-c Center based in the School of Medicine, the interdisciplinary nature of palliative care will require a reach that is much broader. Therefore, this proposal pays particular attention to links across campus.
The DCPC sits at the interface of Duke’s clinical and academic missions, using the Duke Health community as a laboratory for cutting-edge research and innovative teaching, while making meaningful contributions to Duke Health’s priorities. The overarching aim of the DCPC is to improve palliative care through population-based approaches. Within this overarching aim, the center has two focus areas:
Research: The Center’s focus is on developing and testing innovative strategies to promote care that is more consistent with patients’ goals, values, and preferences
Education: The Center emphasizes efforts to provide primary palliative care education that is effective, efficient, and scalable to health systems and populations.
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