The University of Toronto will be collaborating with the University Health Network (UHN) to launch an institute dedicated to end-of-life issues and the treatment of patients with life-threatening terminal diseases.
The institute, called the Global Institute for Psychosocial, Palliative and End-of-Life Care (GIPPEC) will be established on July 1 and located in Faculty of Medicine at U of T. It will be an interdepartmental and interdivisional research centre devoted to promoting and devising solutions to the medical, psychological, social, legal, ethical, cultural, and religious problems concerned with the treatment of patients with advanced and terminal diseases. The main goals of the institute include research, education, and knowledge mobilization.
Although this new establishment will be led by the Faculty of Medicine and its various departments, it will also partner up with other divisions and departments within U of T including the Faculty of Nursing, the Faculty of Social Work, the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, and the Faculty of Law. Other departments involved with the centre include the Faculty of Arts & Science departments of philosophy, sociology, anthropology, religion, the Institute of Health Policy Management and Evaluation, the Joint Centre for Bioethics, the Centre for Comparative Literature, and the Institute of Life Course and Aging, in addition to the Kensington Health Centre.
Dr. Gary Rodin, Head of Psychosocial Oncology and Palliative Care at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, UHN, and psychiatry professor at U of T, will serve as director of the institute.
“Many of the important questions regarding palliative and end-of-life care lie at the interface of medicine and society, and must be addressed from medical, psychological, ethical, legal, economic, cultural, and other dimensions,” said Rodin.
Palliative care refers to the active total care of patients with life-threatening diseases, with a focus on relief of pain and other physical symptoms; and of psychological and spiritual distress, including end-of-life care and bereavement.
Due to the sensitive nature of palliative care, it entails some inherent controversial aspects with the most volatile being palliative sedation. It is also contentious in many cultures — for example, in countries where there is a fear of opioids, prompting patients to suffer through pain rather than taking such medications.
“The institute will help us build partnerships and collaborations locally and internationally in this emerging research field, to ensure that meaningful evidence informs health policy, clinical practice, and public awareness,” said Rodin.
The central administrative and academic area for GIPPEC will be located at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre/Ontario Cancer Institute at UHN, and will house core faculty members and administrative staff.
GIPPEC will have its formal inauguration in October 2014, and will be functioning within the next year. It will include a core staff of about six people, and will have numerous Canadian and international researchers contributing part-time.
