Investigating public health policies to improve end-of-life care for elderly people

Reviewing EU-level and Belgian health public policies to outline the most efficient ones

To produce this invaluable synthetic study, Dr. Lara Pivodic and her team will move forward in two stages. First, the researchers will conduct an analysis of the quality of end-of-life care in the population aged 85 or over in Belgium. This way, the study aims to accurately describe the main risks associated with poor end-of-life care in the older population. The second step will consist of a more innovative approach. Dr. Lara Pivodic will analyze whether relevant EU-level and Belgian health and social policies are available to address the risks of poor end-of-life care. To carry out this part of the study, the team will conduct a documentary analysis, as well as consult experts and stakeholders.

Dr. Lara Pivodic’s research focuses on a doubly vulnerable population that has not received a lot of attention to date, those over age 85 who are dying from progressive and incurable disease. Her project will lay important foundations for improving quality of life for this age group, now and in the future. “End of life and palliative care need to be improved everywhere in the world. But some countries have better policies than others”, Dr. Pivodic points out. By conducting this study, she intends to shed light on those policies which have the potential to mitigate or even prevent the health, social, and socio-economical risks which result from poor end-of-life care.