Clinical Research Directory

Therapeutic Support to Strengthen Dignity, Mental Well-being and Quality of Life in Acute Palliative Care Patients.

The goal of this clinical trial is to test the benefit of a newly designed personalized therapeutic intervention compared to the standard specialized palliative care service at the swiss acute palliative hospital care.The main questions it aims to answer are: Does an additional therapeutic support that fits the individual needs of a palliative care patient increases dignity and mental well-being as measures by a questionnaire (Patient Dignity Inventory) to a larger extent than standard palliative care alone? Is the additional therapeutic support perceived as helpful? Researchers will compare the additional therapeutic support with standard palliative care to standard palliative care alone. Participants will: Receive additional therapeutic support in two structured sessions a 60 minutes and/or standard palliative care Fill out questionnaires before and after therapeutic interventions and standard palliative care Provide a semi-structured interview following the therapeutic support

Complexity in Health, Education, and Social Support for Children and Young People With Life-limiting Conditions.

Children and young people (CYP) with life-limiting conditions represent a growing population with complex care needs that span health, education, and social care systems. These children often have multiple diagnoses, rely on medical technologies, and experience prolonged trajectories of illness. Despite this, care remains fragmented, services are poorly integrated, and definitions of "complexity" are variable, inconsistent, and inadequately reflect the lived experience of families and the perspectives of professionals. The CHESS (Complexity in Health, Education, and Social Support) study aims to develop a shared, evidence-informed understanding of "complexity" in the context of CYP with life-limiting conditions. The study will be delivered by a multi-disciplinary, multisectoral research team and is funded by a National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Programme Development Grant. This research will provide the foundational work to inform the design and implementation of a future NIHR Programme Grant focused on the development and testing of a child-centred, nationally applicable case mix classification system to support integrated multisector care and resource allocation. This qualitative study involves two stages. Stage 1 consists of semi-structured interviews with (i) CYP aged 5-17 years with a life-limiting condition, (ii) parents/carers (including bereaved parents and parents of children aged under 5 years), and (iii) professionals across healthcare, social care, and education sectors. These interviews aim to elicit stakeholder understandings of "complexity," how it is experienced and enacted in care, and the implications for service access, coordination, and outcomes. Stage 2 comprises a series of stakeholder workshops to review, refine, and synthesise findings from Stage 1 and a parallel realist review. Using consensus methods including the Nominal Group Technique, the workshops will co-develop a cross-sectoral conceptual definition of "complexity" and produce a logic model to guide integrated care delivery for this population. The CHESS study seeks to address a critical evidence gap in how complexity is understood, measured, and supported across systems. By incorporating the voices of children, families, and professionals across sectors, this study will generate new conceptual clarity, build a foundation for improved outcomes, and contribute directly to the national agenda on equity, quality, and integration in paediatric palliative and complex care.