Grant: CIHR Café Scientifique Program

What can health care do for you if we cannot cure your illness? The primary cause of sickness and death in Canada is chronic disease. As we age, the likelihood of living with at least one chronic illness rises steeply. Canadians are living longer and many are living sicker. A recent report from the Canadian Institute for Health Information highlighted gaps in healthcare for people living with chronic illness and pointed out that Canadians living with chronic diseases may not be receiving all the care they need. Women tend to be disadvantaged along with rural residents and those with low income. When we cannot cure your illness, the focus must turn to maximizing comfort, supporting quality of life and engaging with families where most of illness care occurs. In other words, the focus becomes living well. Our research indicates that we can support quality of life and that different strategies may be needed for persons with illness as compared to family caregivers, for women as compared to men, and for rural residents as compared to urban residents. However, our research also raises fundamental questions about how to think about quality of life when there is progressive advanced illness that is accompanied by loss and, inevitably, death. Our findings raise important areas for discussion - how can we support quality of life for all involved family members regardless of gender, place of residence, or whether they are providers or recipients of care? How can we support quality of life throughout progressive illness?