In December 2015, the LCO issued a Call for Research Papers related to its project on Improving the Last Stage of Life. The deadline to submit proposals in response to our Call for Research Papers closed on January 22, 2016.

On or before February 5, 2016, the LCO extended offers to fund seven successful multidisciplinary teams to undertake research on the topics indicated below. This research will be taken into account in the LCO’s analysis and recommendations, along with other research, consultations and feedback on our other published documents. The views expressed in the ultimate research papers will not necessarily reflect the views of the LCO, nor does the LCO take responsibility for their eventual content.

1. Judith Wahl (Advocacy Centre for the Elderly), Mary Jane Dykeman (Dykeman Dewhirst O’Brien LLP) & Tara Walton: Informed consent, advance care planning and substitute decision-making: using practice tools to ensure meaningful decision-making in the last stages of life

2. Dr. Donna Wilson & Dr. Stephen Birch: Improved care setting transitions in the last year of life

3. Dr. Mary Chiu, Dr. Adrian Grek, Sonia Meerai, LJ Nelles, Dr. Joel Sadavoy & Dr. Virginia Wesson: Understanding the lived experience of individuals, caregivers and families touched by frailty, chronic illness and dementia in Ontario

4. Omar Ha-Redeye, Ruby Latif & Dr. Kashif Pirzada: Integrating religious and cultural supports into quality care in the last stages of life in Ontario

5. Susan Brown, Dr. James Downar, Dr. Jennifer Gibson, Dr. Laura Hawryluck, Dr. Csilla Kaloscai, Dr. Joy Richards, Robert Sibbald & Alexi Wood: Balancing the interests of patients, substitute decision-makers, family and health care providers in decision-making over the withdrawal and withholding of life-sustaining treatment

6. Dr. Arne Stinchcombe, Dr. Katherine Kortes-Miller & Dr. Kimberley Wilson: Perspectives on the final stage of life from LGBT elders living in Ontario

7. Sandy Buchman, Rosario Cartagena, Rose Geist, Mark Handelman, Kaveh Katebian, Wendy Lawrence, Trudo Lemmens, Harvey Schipper, Gilbert Sharpe & Alison Thompson:  The impact of suffering on decision-making and methods of assessing capacity in the last stages of life