title: Barriers to research in palliative care in France.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Palliative care (PC) needs expansion of its research capacity to improve the quality of care. This is particularly true for France that contributed less than 2% of all European PC research publications. We conducted a survey to assess the barriers French healthcare professionals (HCPs) involved in PC research had to face.
  
  
  METHODS
  We surveyed all 420 PC departments registered in the French National Association for Palliative Care (SFAP) database using a previously used questionnaire. We documented the ethical limitations, time constraints, financial resources, patient issues and methodological issues related to PC research.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We obtained 382 responses. Ninety-two (24.1%) HCPs were involved in a research project during the last 5 years. In univariate results, predictors of being involved in PC research were men (p=0.004), physician (p=0.022), working at a university hospital (p<0.001). There was a trend towards working in a PC unit (p=0.052). The main barriers to participating in PC research were lack of time (80.1%) and patient issues (47.4%). Lack of methodological support (33.0%) and financial limitations (30.4%) were also reported as major barriers.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There is a consensus that PC research and publication in the English language for peer-reviewed journals must be expanded in France but at this stage, clinical teams still lack specific funding and appropriate support. More research is needed to confirm our results and to determine the best ways to develop PC research capacity in France.
authors.affiliation: Department of Palliative Care, Centre Hospitalier de Lyon-Sud, Hospices Civils de Lyon, Lyon, France.|Department of Palliative Care and Rehabilitation Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA.
authors.forename: Wadih
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Rhondali
authors.affiliation: Pole Information Médicale Evaluation Recherche, Hospices Civils de Lyon, Lyon, France.
authors.forename: Julien
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Berthiller
authors.affiliation: Department of Palliative Care and Rehabilitation Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hui
authors.affiliation: Department of Palliative Care and Rehabilitation Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA.
authors.forename: Sriram
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yennu
authors.affiliation: Department of Palliative Care, Centre Hospitalier de Lyon-Sud, Hospices Civils de Lyon, Lyon, France.
authors.forename: Veronique
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Lafumas
authors.affiliation: Department of Palliative Care, Centre Hospitalier de Lyon-Sud, Hospices Civils de Lyon, Lyon, France.
authors.forename: Mathilde
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ledoux
authors.affiliation: Oncological Palliative Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine and Palliative Care Center, Cantonal Hospital, St Gallen, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Florian
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Strasser
authors.affiliation: Department of Palliative Care, Centre Hospitalier de Lyon-Sud, Hospices Civils de Lyon, Lyon, France.
authors.forename: Marilène
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Filbet
keywords: Methodological research; Supportive care