When a hospice agency and a college or university work together in a formalized way toward a common goal, they are a community-academic partnership at its most basic level. Community-academic partnerships can be an effective way for a hospice agency to become involved in end-of-life research.

Working with Academic Partners
The world of hospice care differs dramatically from the world of academic teaching and research but the two can collaborate in meaningful partnerships if there is a mutual understanding of what drives each system.  Within the typical academic setting, research may be seen as a way of testing a theory, gaining new information about a phenomenon, or refuting previously conducted research in a particular area.  College and University researchers enjoy the benefits of what’s often referred to as “academic freedom,” defined as: “the right of scholars…to teach and discuss, to carry out research and to disseminate and publish the results thereof, to express freely their opinion about the institution or system in which they work, to be free from institutional censorship, and to participate in professional or representative academic bodies without fear, persecution, harassment, intimidation and violence, without discrimination and without constriction by prescribed doctrine.” (University of Chicago “Scholars at Risk”(2002) http://scholarsatrisk.uchicago.edu)

For a college or university researcher, academic freedom means that there are virtually no limits on what topics can be researched as long as such research is ethically conducted. Hence, the concept of academic freedom has become one of the keystones of scientific progress. However, hospice agencies conducting research are in a different position. For example, it might not be prudent for a hospice-based researcher “to express freely their opinion about the institution or system in which they work” in an article or other publication if such an opinion could harm the hospice agency. Likewise, hospice agencies may choose not to engage in research aimed at, for example, eliminating the hospice Medicare benefit. This is not to say that hospice agencies should not research controversial or “difficult” topics.” Rather, it is essential that hospice researchers be cognizant of the potential ramifications of their work.

These differences may, at times, present some opportunities for growth for both partners. It is essential that hospice agencies retain their focus on the patients and families they serve and, at all times, that they prioritize the needs of the patient and family over the needs of research.  Unlike a university whose primary mission it is to teach and to conduct research, the mission of a hospice agency is to provide quality end-of-life care. If research in any way interferes with the hospice agency’s ability to carry out its primary mission, than said research should be seriously reconsidered.

Identifying and Forming Partnerships
In exploring the possibility of utilizing community-academic partnerships in conducting research, hospice agencies may want to ask themselves the following questions:

• What are we looking for in a partnership in terms of skills (i.e. a skilled “number-cruncher,” skilled individuals to do focus groups, skilled individuals who can assist us in getting a grant, etc)?
• What are the short-term and long-term goals for the partnership?
• Does the hospice agency currently have established relationships with any educational institutions?
• What faculty members and/or students have previously worked with the hospice agency (for internships, research projects, etc)? What institutions were they associated with?
• What universities or colleges are located near the hospice agency?
• What end-of-life care researchers are located near the hospice agency?

Using this information, a hospice agency can then begin the process of identifying or establishing a community-academic partnership to assist them in accomplishing their research agenda.  Steps to consider before forming (and/or formalizing) a community-academic partnership include:

• Investigate the academic institution and individual researchers before you contact them. (Information sources might include the Internet, reputation in the community, literature searches, etc.)  Do the research interests of the individual somewhat match the agency’s interests? Does the academic institution have a strong reputation in any particular area of research?
• Identify the specific individual you would like to meet with from the academic institution. (This might be a faculty researcher, academic program director, or dean of a college of nursing, social work, medicine, etc.)
• Contact the individual to explain who you are and why you would like to meet with them. Mention that you are familiar with their work in XYZ area of research and that you would welcome the opportunity to talk to them about their work as it pertains to end-of-life research. Make it easy for the individual to meet with you – offer to meet them at their office on campus. (For a future meeting, you can invite the individual to your hospice agency for a tour).
• Keep the meeting brief and focused. Be prepared with a list of the agency’s research goals/objectives as you speak with the individual.
• Be clear about what you are asking of the individual and their institution – do you want help writing grants, developing research methodology, etc?
• Identify specific benefits the collaboration/partnership would provide to the academic institution – the opportunity to work collaboratively with a leader in end-of-life care, opportunities for student researchers, access to a population of individuals at the end of life, etc.
• If the individual is interested is discussing the possibility of working together with your hospice agency, set another meeting date. At that time, go into greater detail about the collaborative relationship.
• Consider establishing an interdisciplinary community-academic partnership. Perhaps convene end-of-life practitioners, as well as researchers in social work, medicine, nursing, pharmacy, spiritual/religious studies, physical therapy, complementary and alternative medicine, etc. to form a “research-working group.”

A little knowledge that acts is worth infinitely more than much knowledge that is idle. -- Kahlil Gibran