title: Methodological considerations for end-of-life research in patients with chronic kidney disease.
abstract: Good quality information is lacking about how patients die. This is particularly true for chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients who have extensive and unique end-of-life care considerations and needs. Research specific to CKD is required to develop systematic and comprehensive information on the end-of-life care needs and the quality of end-of-life care for patients with CKD, to describe the effectiveness of existing end-of-life care strategies in CKD (including cost-effectiveness), to identify areas that should be priorities for improvement and ultimately to develop innovative strategies for improving the end-of-life care for patients dying with CKD. This paper will highlight the challenges and limitations of the current approaches to end-of-life care research and will outline what is required, both in content and methodology, to move the field of renal palliative care forward.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. sara.davidson@ualberta.ca
authors.forename: Sara N
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Davidson
authors.forename: Fliss E M
authors.initials: FE
authors.lastname: Murtagh
authors.forename: Irene J
authors.initials: IJ
authors.lastname: Higginson
mesh_terms: D004992:Ethics, Medical; D017048:Health Care Costs; D006302:Health Services Research / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007676:Kidney Failure, Chronic / Q000191:economics / Q000628:therapy*; D010166:Palliative Care; D019984:Quality Indicators, Health Care; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D012107:Research Design; D013727:Terminal Care / Q000191:economics