Developing an effective and efficient health care delivery system for Canadians at the end-of-life

In the mid-eighties, while working as a palliative care nurse, Dr. Kelli Stajduhar cared for a young man dying from AIDS. A few years later, her mother was diagnosed with lung cancer and died. Both received less than optimal care at the end of their lives. Stajduhar was profoundly affected by those experiences, which gave her a strong desire to examine ways to improve care and support for people at the end-of-life. Stajduhar’s PhD research focused on the provision of home-based care for people who are dying, and its impact on family caregivers. Her postdoctoral work aims to identify the elements needed for an effective, efficient, comprehensive and coordinated system of health care for Canadians who have come to that point in their lives. Ultimately, Stajduhar would like to advance health policy on end-of-life care.