Recherche et évaluation en soins palliatifs : panorama et réflexions

The purpose of this article is to present synthetically, based on literary data, some items of reflection on the interest and the limits of the evaluation process in palliative care, whether it be a qualitative or quantitative approach. The use of evaluation techniques is questionable for they imply an ideal depiction of a “proper way of dying” and because they claim to objectivate a fundamental subjective matter. Therefore it is necessary to keep a critical distance with this evaluation process not to alter the relationship with the patient. As a result, it proves essential to integrate the methodological approach issuing from social sciences into an ethical reflexion.