Suicide Prevention: Efforts to Increase Research and Education in Palliative Care

Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reported on the extent to which projects under section 781 of the Public Health Service Act have furthered the knowledge and practice of palliative care, particularly with regard to curricula offered and used in medical schools. GAO's preliminary work showed that no fiscal year (FY) 1998 funding for section 781 projects would be awarded by its April 30, 1998 reporting date, so GAO focused on determining: (1) the extent to which the physician education and training process currently teaches and tests student competency in palliative care issues; (2) the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) plans for funding palliative care projects under section 781; and (3) other federal and private palliative care research and education initiatives.