Lay summary
The End of Life Choice Act (2019), which begins on 7 November 2021, heralds a paradigm shift in end-of-life care in New Zealand Aotearoa. While providing new choices for people with a terminal illness, the implementation of assisted dying (AD) will create new challenges for patients, whānau, health practitioners and the entire health system. Timely and high-quality research is imperative to ensure AD is safe, accessible and available equitably.
This activation grant will 1) establish a new AD research network; 2) collaboratively identify key research priorities with input from stakeholders; 3) develop funding applications to address these priorities.
These activities will provide the critical evidence base and collaborative research capacity needed to support safe, accessible and equitable AD. Project outcomes also include grants applications that will contribute to effective monitoring, regulatory review of the AD system, development of policy and clinical guidelines, and patient and whānau information.