After four years of study, Georgina Constantinou has completed her research and published a paper around ‘Children’s palliative care: Parent and professional perspectives of unmet needs, access & expectations’. Her findings have already been disseminated amongst healthcare professionals both nationally and internationally, and her paper has been featured by key paediatric care publication, the Journal of Child Health Care.

Georgina said: “I’m so happy to be graduating after finishing my PhD – it’s been a long time coming and it hasn’t quite sunk in yet! I always wanted to work in health psychology and prior to my PhD I used to work with children with brain injuries and their families, particularly in providing support for them to move forward in life following injury. I had witnessed first-hand how trauma can have a ripple effect on a family network and how they cope, so I felt this PhD research area suited my existing experience.”

The opportunity to take part in this funded PhD came about after Keech Hospice Care and the University met to discuss the need for more research into child palliative care and the impact on their families. Following the initial idea, applicants were invited to explore the topic in more detail and Georgina discovered a lack of research around ‘unmet needs’ and expectations of services from a parental perspective, such as barriers faced when guiding their child through care – and thus her PhD stemmed from this.

Liz Searle, CEO of Keech Hospice Care, commented: “We are delighted with this first funded PhD student and to be here today at the graduation ceremony to celebrate with Georgina. Keech Hospice Care is a leading hospice for children and adults and we have a big background in research and innovation, but this particular piece of work was a great partnership with the University and allowed us to really look at the needs for our families with children who have life-limiting illnesses. The evidence will change practise, which is so important.”

Elaine Tolliday, Deputy CEO and Clinical Director at Keech Hospice Care, added: “We’re aware that parents feel they have to battle for the services they want and that are available for their children in the UK, and so this research has made us more aware of what is needed and desired. Using Georgina’s findings we have done a lot of things already to help combat this issue and help empower our patients and their families.”

Professor Gurch Randhawa, Georgina’s PhD co-supervisor and Director of the University’s Institute for Health Research (IHR), said: “Palliative care is relatively under-researched and so it has been fantastic to collaborate with Keech Hospice Care to develop much-needed research evidence. As a result of this PhD, we were also able to collaborate and secure funding from the National Institute for Health Research in 2022 to establish an End of Life Care Research Partnership Network, and we look forward to working together to collaborate on further research studies.”

For more information about PhD and research opportunities with the University of Bedfordshire, visit the Research Graduate School.