Dimbleby Marie Curie Research Fund call for applications

Marie Curie and Dimbleby Cancer Care are calling for research applications to their £500,000 joint research fund that seeks to improve end of life care.

The second call, announced at Marie Curie’s Annual Palliative Care Research Conference (March 25), aims to specifically fund research in the area of support for carers looking after people at the end of life.

Applications are invited for research projects looking at two carer-focussed areas where there is little existing knowledge. These are:

• The demographic characteristics and personal circumstances of those who provide unpaid care for people at the end of their lives
• Educational interventions to assist those who provide unpaid care for people at the end of their lives to gain the practical and nursing skills they need to care for patients at home

Dr Louise Jones, Acting Head of Research for Marie Curie Cancer Care, said: “The aim of the joint Dimbleby and Marie Curie Cancer Care fund is to contribute to meeting a gap in funding of end of life care research.

“Support for carers is a key theme that has been highlighted in the Department of Health’s End of Life Care Strategy. More and more people are looking after loved ones at End of Life and little is known about the effect this has on those carers and the challenges they face.

“We hope this research will help us better understand the needs of carers in end of life care and enable us and others to deliver support in practice.”

The Dimbleby Marie Curie Cancer Care Research Fund was established in 2010. Both charities share the aim of improving research into end of life issues and joined forces by pooling some of their financial and administrative resources to address the serious knowledge gap in this area.  In its first funding round, the Fund selected three major studies into the use of volunteers in end of life care. 

The second call for funding is open to all and applications within the remit will be peer-reviewed, allowing for a wholly open and competitive process for determining funding. Methodological rigour and feasibility of the project will be paramount.

The deadline for submission of proposals is 7 October 2011.

More information and application forms can be found on the Dimbleby Cancer Care wesbite. Alternatively, contact Georgie Grindlay at Dimbleby Cancer Care on 020 7188 7889 or dcc-mccc.research@dimblebycancercare.org.

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