Abstract
Conducting scientific research within a clinical practice area presents a variety of challenges. When the specialty area is hospice and palliative care, the collaborative task is particularly daunting. In this article, we describe an ongoing study being conducted as a partnership between the University of Illinois at Chicago and a large metropolitan hospice organization. Our research focuses on engaging patients and their caregivers in a study measuring the effects of massage on cancer pain. The purpose of this article is to describe both the lessons learned and the benefits accrued from collaboration between hospice practitioners and academic researchers. We present these process findings as guideposts for others considering end-of-life or palliative care research. Upon completion of the study in 2009, we will disseminate outcome findings in future articles.