The PCRC has formed an exciting collaboration with the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management (JPSM). PCRC members, Laura C. Hanson, MD, MPH and Tamara Somers, PhD, are Co-Editors for JPSM’s new section on Methodological Reviews for Hospice and Palliative Care Research. Dr. Hanson is a Professor of Professor of Geriatric Medicine and Medical Director of Palliative Care at the University of North Carolina. She is a founding member of the Palliative Care Research Cooperative (PCRC) group and currently leads the PCRC Measurement Core. Dr. Somers is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Duke University School of Medicine. Dr. Somers serves as the PCRC’s Clinical Studies/Methodology Core Co-Leader.

This section of JPSM is focusing on manuscripts addressing original research and important methodological issues related to hospice and palliative care research. Examples of topics of interest include, but are not limited to: measurement methods for important outcomes, study recruitment and retention strategies, research design, research innovations, meaningful stakeholder engagement, and analytic methods. The maximum length is 3500 words (not including Abstract or references); a narrative Abstract is required (250 words).  Text should be divided into sections; suggested headings are Abstract, Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, Disclosures and Acknowledgments, and References.

There are two ways for PCRC members to get involved with this PCRC-JPSM collaboration.

First, we encourage PCRC members to submit their work in this area to this special section of JPSM. Please feel free to email Dr. Hanson or Dr. Somers that you are submitting your work so we can ensure it gets triaged to this new section.

Second, we are recruiting a group of select journal reviewers from the PCRC membership. This is a great opportunity to contribute to hospice and palliative care research and to learn by reviewing new cutting-edge work by leaders in the field. Please reach out to Dr. Hanson or Dr. Somers if you would be interested in serving in this role for the PCRC. Of particular interest, JPSM plans to create a mentored reviewer program that will pair more experienced reviewers with less experienced reviewers to develop a group of reviewers with expertise in evaluating new scientific work. This is a great way to develop your skills in evaluating scientific work.

Please direct questions to Drs. Hanson and/or Somers at: laura_hanson@med.unc.edu and tamara.somers@duke.edu.