Dorothy House Palliative Care Research Conference 2025

On Thursday 5 June 2025, Dorothy House Hospice Care is delighted to be hosting a collaborative Palliative Care Research Conference focusing on palliative care research in residential and community settings.

Location: Bloomfield Hall, Winsley House (in-person)

Conference duration: 9.30am – 4pm

Early Bird Tickets: £65

General Admission Tickets: £75

Using research to optimise care in community settings

Learn about the latest research and best practices in providing end of life care in both residential and community settings, bringing together researchers, practitioners and patients across residential and community settings to share insights and best practice.

The Palliative Care Research Conference will allow experts in the field to discuss the latest findings and innovations; offering an opportunity to network with professionals and learn from leading researchers.

What to expect

• Q&A panel discussions
• Experts with lived experience
• Keynote talks by experts in the field
• Lunch included
• Networking opportunities
• Abstract posters

Keynote speakers

Dr Ben Bowers, PhD, MSc, BA, RN, PGCert Med Ed

Ben is a Wellcome Post-Doctoral Fellow, University of Cambridge, and a practicing Honorary Nurse Consultant in Palliative Care. Ben is an interdisciplinary clinical-academic nurse, working with colleagues in engineering, patient safety and social sciences. Ben leads a programme of research focused on improving dignified dying and last-days-of-life symptom control care at home. His research includes the voices and experiences of patients, families and under-served communities. Ben has researched anticipatory prescribing practices and experiences of care extensively.

Ben leads the UK-wide QNI Community Nursing Research Forum, building research capacity across nursing specialities. He is the Deputy Theme Lead of Palliative and End of Life Care for the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration East of England.

Dr Tamara Backhouse

Dr Tamara Backhouse is a research fellow at the University of East Anglia. Her research focuses on improving personal care interactions for people with dementia and their caregivers, with a particular emphasis on managing refusals of care in advanced dementia.

Tamara, a care worker herself for many years, is passionate about supporting health and social care staff in what can be a tricky area of dementia care practice.

Professor Matthew Maddocks, PhD, MCSP, FHEA

Professor of Health Services Research & Rehabilitation, King’s College London. Matthew is an academic physiotherapist. He completed a PhD on the role of exercise in cancer cachexia in 2010 and has since held National Institute of Health Research post-doctoral, clinical trials and career development fellowships. He is a co-lead for the Palliative & End of Life Care theme of the NIHR Applied Research Collaborative for South London.

He leads a team undertaking applied clinical and health services research that advances rehabilitation and palliative care for people with serious illness, through improved management of complex symptoms including breathlessness, fatigue, weakness, and syndromes including cachexia, sarcopenia and frailty.

Why participate in research?

We are proud to offer research participation opportunities to people who access our services. It can provide direct health and wellbeing benefits to research participants, or offer a sense of purpose by potentially benefiting others in the future.

Find out more here or book your tickets now.