Challenges of conducting research in palliative care

There has been virtually no discussion of the challenges that are encountered in conducting qualitative research in palliative care. This article draws upon the authors' experiences to identify issues and options in designing studies that are appropriate to the needs of patients, families, and staff as well as the research objectives. Attention is given to characteristics of the qualitative method, selection of the appropriate design, recruitment of participants, the interview process, and data analysis. The importance of sharing the results is emphasized: most families expressed hope that their experiences would be helpful to others in similar situations and their desire to be helpful overrode their feelings of fatigue and discomfort that accompanied participation in the study.