#48 To dialyse or not to dialyse?  How research can support decision making with Dr Lucy Selman

In this episode it is my pleasure to talk with Dr Lucy Selman. Lucy is Associate Professor in Palliative and End of Life Care and a social scientist who has published extensively on experiences of serious illness; decision-making and communication; family care-giving and bereavement; and widening access to services.

Lucy is currently conducting the OSCAR study focussed on improving how renal clinicians communicate with older people about their treatment options and we dive into some fascinating early findings in our discussion. Lucy is based at the University of Bristol and works closely with researchers Dr Ryann Sowden and Dr Chloe Shaw on the study.

Key messages from guest

• Lucy describes the catalyst for her research

• Lucy explains the impact on decision making on how clinicians frame their questions to patients.

• Lucy shares the huge variation in people who undertake dialysis, ranging incredibly from 5-95% regionally

• Some of the early findings reveal five ways clinicians frame discussions 

• Evidence suggests decision making is not always person centred

Resources

• Find out more about the OSCAR study

• The Dialysis Dilemma - February 2019

• 2018 PREM survey results

• The views and experiences of older people with conservatively managed renal failure: a qualitative study of communication, information and decision-making

Bio

Dr.  Lucy Selman is Associate Professor in Palliative and End of Life Care at the University of Bristol. Dr Selman is a social scientist and over the last 18 years has published extensively on experiences of serious illness; decision-making and communication; family care-giving and bereavement; and widening access to services. She is currently conducting the OSCAR study (Optimising Staff-Patient Communication in Advanced Renal disease) as part of an NIHR Advanced Fellowship. Other current studies include Good Grief Connects (funded by the National Lottery Foundation) and an AHRC-funded project in Weston-super-Mare building a community network to reduce inequities in end-of-life care and bereavement support. She is also Founding Director of Good Grief Festival, a public engagement initiative which has reached over 26,000 people since October 2020. Good Grief aims to normalise conversations around death, dying and grief, empower bereaved people, and widen access to research and bereavement support.

Find out more about my Bespoke Consultancy

• Service analysis for teams seeking to improve EoLC or prepare for CQC

• End of Life Care Education

• Lasting Power of Attorney Consultancy

• Talks and presentations

If you’d like to find out more about my work contact me.

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Thanks to all my guests for working with me to share their knowledge, experience and stories about Advance Care Planning. I hope you enjoyed listening and have insights to take away; I love hearing your reflections on the series and look forward to reviews on Spotify where you can also subscribe to the series.

Clare

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