The Palliative Care Research Cooperative Group (PCRC) was established in 2010 as the first research cooperative group focused on palliative care and end-of-life (PCEOL) research. The National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) provided foundational funding through a cooperative agreement (NINR UC4NR012584), and continuation funding was provided in 2013 and 2018 (NINR U24NR014637 and NINR U2CNR014637, respectively). The vision of the PCRC was to provide excellent palliative care relying on the best evidence and a scientific underpinning. The PCRC existed to lead, catalyze, and empower a community of investigators who were developing an evidence base to ensure high-quality care and optimal well-being for persons with serious illness and their caregivers.

Betty Ferrell, RN, PhD, MA, FAAN, FPCN, CHPN, and James (Nick) Dionne-Odom, PhD, MSN, MA, RN, ACHPN, FPCN have successfully led the PCRC’s Caregiver Core efforts. They have supported investigators from a wide array of disciplines and consulted on study design, development of study aims, selection of research instruments, guidance around theoretical frameworks, and support of other aspects of proposal development. Additionally, throughout their tenure of leading the Caregiver Core, Drs. Ferrell and Dionne-Odom have built a substantial toolbox of resources to assist researchers focused on caregivers of patients with serious illness. These resources are shared here in partnership between the PCRC and University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Center for Palliative and Supportive Care.

Caregiver Core resources were generously funded by the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR Grants UC4NR012584, U24NR014637, and U2CNR014637).