NCRI collects research funding data from its Partners in the NCRI Cancer Research Database. In collaboration with Marie Curie, the NCRI carried out an analysis of this data on palliative and end of life care research funding in the UK. The recent report summarises these findings, and the impact of Marie Curie’s own investment on the UK research landscape in palliative and end of life care.
» Read the report on palliative and end of life care research funding (PDF)
Palliative and end of life care research is an under represented area. The analysis showed that of the £503 million spent on cancer research by NCRI Partners in 2013; £3.08 million or 0.61% was spent on palliative and end of life care research.
Funding in this area has been consistently below 0.7% of the total cancer research spend, and the figures show there has been little sustained change in the amount invested in palliative and end of life care research.
While the analysis is limited to cancer research and does not account for all of Marie Curie’s research investments, the analysis showed Marie Curie funds more than 50% of the research spend in cancer related palliative and end of life care.
Dr Sabine Best, Head of Research at Marie Curie said, “Palliative and end of life care research is vastly underfunded. Thanks to the NCRI Cancer Research Database, we are continuing to track research spend in this area and the impact of our own investment, to ensure more funding is made available to increase the evidence base for better care for people with terminal illness, their families, carers and friends”.
» Further information on Marie Curie’s research activities (Marie Curie website)