Diane Tapp

A nurse and full professor at the Faculty of Nursing at Université Laval, Diane Tapp has been conducting research for over ten years aimed at improving palliative and end-of-life care. She holds a master’s degree and a PhD in nursing sciences, and is regular researcher at the CHU de Québec-Université Laval Research Center (Oncology program) and at the Research Center of the Institut universitaire de cardiologie et de pneumologie de Québec.

Her research focuses primarily on the assessment of needs and care trajectories of people living with serious illnesses, disabilities, or anticipated end-of-life situations, as well as on interventions that promote quality of life, symptom relief, and equity in access to care. She is particularly interested in continuous palliative sedation, medical assistance in dying, pain management, care practices in the context of dementia or disability, and the development of assessment tools in palliative care.

Diane Tapp has led or co-led numerous projects funded by various granting agencies, addressing topics such as home-based care, respite services for caregivers, the use of technologies at the end of life, professional training, and public literacy around death and palliative care. She is also actively involved in several research networks, including a national palliative and end-of-life care research network, which she has co-directed since 2022.

In parallel with her research activities, she develops and delivers continuing education activities for both health professionals and the general public. She is involved in the educational programming of the University of the Third Age, helping to foster a broader societal understanding of death, dying, and end-of-life issues. She also provides training in clinical settings on palliative care, medical assistance in dying, and end-of-life practices.

Her work is rooted in an interdisciplinary, collaborative approach that is attentive to contexts of vulnerability. She collaborates with clinical, community, and academic teams to advance research while also ensuring effective knowledge transfer to practice settings and public policy. She supervises graduate students whose projects focus on clinical practices, ethical issues, assessment tools, or social representations of the end of life.

Through her research, teaching, and collective engagement, Diane Tapp strives to support a transformation of palliative care that is grounded in scientific rigor, social innovation, and a deeply human approach.