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Call for papers - Digital health and new technologies in palliative care

Guest Editors:
Mark Taubert: Velindre University NHS Trust and Cardiff University School of Medicine, United Kingdom
Simon Tavabie: University College London Hospitals NHS Trust, United Kingdom

Submission Status: Open   |   Submission Deadline: 11 June 2024


BMC Palliative Care is calling for submissions to our Collection on Digital health and technology in palliative care. As the landscape of healthcare continues to evolve, so does the role of technology in palliative care. We welcome submissions that explore innovative approaches, interventions, and tools that leverage digital health solutions to advance the delivery of palliative care services. 

Meet the Guest Editors

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Mark Taubert: Velindre University NHS Trust and Cardiff University School of Medicine, United Kingdom

Mark Taubert is a palliative medicine hospital consultant & clinical director at Velindre University NHS Trust. His teaching/research activities at Cardiff University include acute palliative care, using new media in clinical settings, and decision-making processes with regard to future care planning. He is the founder of talkCPR.com and chairs a national strategy group that aims to improve understanding of topic areas relevant to care in the last years of life. 


Simon Tavabie: University College London Hospitals NHS Trust, United Kingdom

Simon Tavabie is a Palliative Medicine Specialist Registrar, currently working in an innovation and improvement role within University College London Hospitals NHS Trust. His interests span from integrating new technologies such as virtual reality in palliative care and electronic Patient Reported Outcome Measures, to real world evaluation of services offered to patients in terms of experience and health policy and economics. 

About the Collection

Palliative care is a clinical, interprofessional discipline focusing on improving quality of life through holistic assessment and support for people experiencing physical, psychological, social, or spiritual distress throughout an illness. It occurs in specialist and non-specialist settings, including primary care, clinic rooms, hospices, hospitals, and the home. 

Digital health and technology describe a vast area of research and development, both in developing new tools to support the work of clinical staff and repurposing existing technology. Innovation in palliative care is vital as we better understand the complexity of an individual’s illness experience. New technologies can help us communicate, bridge understanding gaps, and better ameliorate suffering.

In recognition of the significant work in this area, BMC Palliative Care has launched this Collection which encourages submissions including, but not limited to, those addressing:

  • Technological innovations in holistic symptom management
  • Digital health solutions to symptom monitoring and health
  • Communication aids and facilitators
  • Use of technology in palliative professional education


Image credit: Newman Studio / stock.adobe.com

  1. Due to limited numbers of palliative care specialists and/or resources, accessing palliative care remains limited in many low and middle-income countries. Data science methods, such as rule-based algorithms an...

    Authors: Pawita Limsomwong, Thammasin Ingviya and Orapan Fumaneeshoat
    Citation: BMC Palliative Care 2024 23:83
    Content type: Research Published on:

  2. Discomfort and distressing symptoms are common at the end of life, while people in this stage are often no longer able to express themselves. Technologies may aid clinicians in detecting and treating these sym...

    Authors: Jingyuan Xu, Hanneke J. A. Smaling, Jan W. Schoones, Wilco P. Achterberg and Jenny T. van der Steen
    Citation: BMC Palliative Care 2024 23:78
    Content type: Research Published on:

  3. Breakthrough cancer pain (BTCP) is primarily managed at home and can stem from physical exertion and emotional distress triggers. Beyond these triggers, the impact of ambient environment on pain occurrence and...

    Authors: Nutta Homdee, John Lach, Leslie Blackhall and Virginia LeBaron
    Citation: BMC Palliative Care 2024 23:62
    Content type: Research Published on:

  4. Predicting mortality in the emergency department (ED) is imperative to guide palliative care and end-of-life decisions. However, the clinical usefulness of utilizing the existing screening tools still leaves s...

    Authors: Yu-Jing Wang, Chen-Yang Hsu, Amy Ming-Fang Yen, Hsiu-Hsi Chen and Chao-Chih Lai
    Citation: BMC Palliative Care 2024 23:51
    Content type: Research Published on:

  5. Despite being driven by a strong sense of duty and familial obligation, providing care for patients nearing the end of life poses challenges for family caregivers. Telemedicine has rapidly gained traction as a...

    Authors: Junchen Guo, Xianghua Xu, Chaoyi Liu, Ying Wang and Yongyi Chen
    Citation: BMC Palliative Care 2024 23:16
    Content type: Research Published on:

Submission Guidelines

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This Collection welcomes submission of original Research Articles. Should you wish to submit a different article type, please read our submission guidelines to confirm that type is accepted by the journal. Articles for this Collection should be submitted via our submission system, Snapp. During the submission process you will be asked whether you are submitting to a Collection, please select Digital health and new technologies in palliative care from the dropdown menu.

Articles will undergo the journal’s standard peer-review process and are subject to all of the journal’s standard policies. Articles will be added to the Collection as they are published.

The Editors have no competing interests with the submissions which they handle through the peer review process. The peer review of any submissions for which the Editors have competing interests is handled by another Editorial Board Member who has no competing interests.