Blanca Goñi, a pre-doctoral researcher for the WeCare Chair and a lecturer in the UIC Barcelona Department of Nursing, won the award for best paper at the XI edition of the Catalan-Balearic Society of Palliative Care Conference. It took place on February 14 and 15 in Barcelona. 

 

Goñi gave an award-winning paper entitled “Necesidades del paciente en cuidados paliativos: Una revisión sistemática cualitativa” the preliminary results of a study for her doctoral thesis. The study was supervised by Dr Cristina Monforte and Dr Iris Crespo, with participation from Dr Denise Pergolizzi, all researchers for the WeCare Chair, and entitled “¿Cuáles son las necesidades de los pacientes con cáncer en el primer encuentro en cuidados paliativos? Perspectiva del paciente, familia y equipo asistencial”. This thesis is part of a national multicentre research project led by Dr Albert Balaguer and Dr Cristina Monforte and funded by the Carlos III Institute, FEDER Funds, P119/01901. 

 

In her work, Blanca Goñi demonstrated that, after analysing seven qualitative studies, two great needs emerged among palliative care patients: The need to adapt to change and the need to maintain a sense of "self". The first reflects the need for support, coping strategies and the need for certainty in relation to the future and to information. The second focuses on the need for normality, faith and the preservation of the perception of patient dignity.