Moving Palliative and End-of-life Care Forward

May 17-21, 2010
Tory Building TB 95
University of Alberta
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Donna Wilson, RN, BScN, MN (Gerontology), PhD (Administration)

Professor in the Faculty of Nursing at the University of Alberta. She also works part-time as a casual staff nurse in a large local acute-care hospital to remain current in health care and nursing practice.

She has worked as a staff nurse, nursing supervisor, hospital administrator, nurse educator, and health researcher in Alberta, British Columbia, New Zealand, Texas, and Northern Ireland. Her program of research focuses on health services utilization and health policy, although primarily in relation to aging, ageism, and end-of-life care. Her research often involves large population databases and increasingly mixed-methods research to incorporate qualitative and quantitative understandings.

She has over 200 published articles, books, book chapters, and other communications in print. She is frequently and widely consulted for commentary on health care trends and issues. She and Allison Williams are the Co-PIs on the CIHR-funding program of research that is profiled in this May 17-21 discussion series.

Topics:

• A report of a recently completed synthesis research project on the influences for the pronounced shift of death and dying out of Canadian hospitals since 1994.
• A report of a second Canadian investigation on location of death trends, with a major universal shift of death and thus dying out of hospitals since 1994.
• A report of a mixed methods study on the number and impact of transitions in care setting in the last year of life
• A report of three studies – the good rural death in Alberta, the good rural death in Quebec, and the good remote death in Nunavut
• We think we can, we know we can!