CareSearch palliative care knowledge network is an online resource consolidating evidence-based and quality information for various groups within the palliative care community. The website has been funded by the Australian Government as part of the National Palliative Care Program. A series of concepts have driven the development of the CareSearch project: • The role of evidence from creation to application, "the knowledge translation cycle" • The multidisciplinary nature of palliative care • The concept of a palliative care community, that is, both those providing palliative care and those affected by the need for palliative care • Granularity, or the idea of the size and scale of components and their relationships within a system, that enables users to find specific information and enter at different points within the website • Quality processes to ensure trustworthiness and relevance of content • Currency of information being supported by processes that enable information to be regularly updated • Relationship between the print and web page so they can function independently as sources of information.
This project is a work in progress that reflects the changing nature of palliative care needs and practice and the underlying evidence and literature base that supports clinical care and service delivery.