Juggling Stories and Statistics: A Critical Reflection of Outcomes in the INSPIRE Trial Designed to Evaluate a Volunteer Led Model of Practical and Social Support for People Living at Home with Palliative Care Needs in Ireland

Background: The INSPIRE trial aims to evaluate the effectiveness of volunteer-led models of social care and practical support for people living at home during their last year of life, with a focus on Milford Care Centre’s Compassionate Communities Good Neighbour Partnership. INSPIRE is aligned to the MRC Framework for Complex Interventions and includes a feasibility RCT (n=80). Aim: This presentation explores and challenges the assumptions made by the lead researcher as she attempts to understand and measure the outcome and effect of volunteer- led community mobilisation for people with palliative care needs. Method: The lead researcher’s assumptions were explored using Fook and Gardner’s (2007) theory and process of critical reflection adapted for n=1. Results: Three critical incidents are shared, together with identification of key constructs and assumptions, noting where and how they fit together. These were often in conflict with the original research hypotheses and study design, yet exploring these interpretations and constructions formed the real learning from INSPIRE. Conclusion: Fook’s model generated the capacity to explore and tolerate uncertainty during this exploratory study, as the researcher tussled with the power of the story vs. the need for robust quantitative data.