The University of Glasgow End of Life Studies Group was founded by Professor David Clark in 2014. Our members are academics from the University of Glasgow and related research projects worldwide.
Our blog
Our staff and guest bloggers use this blog as a platform to express opinions and publish updates about our end of life research projects and case studies. We also blog about end of life publications, policy, doctoral studies, educational resources, events and cultural activities.
Our research
Our major research project is the Global Interventions at the End of Life, supported by the Wellcome Trust and led by the University of Glasgow. We are examining how ‘interventions’ or responses to end of life issues transfer from one location to another, and how they translate to another culture or context.
Within this research project are many case studies, including:
- The spread of Neighbourhood Networks in Palliative Care (NNPC)
- Declarations as advocacy: palliative care, assisted dying, older people, pain management
- Housing with care: interventions for older people
- The Liverpool Care Pathway: global spread and national demise
- Emergence of the Death Café movement
- The role of the World Health Assembly in the development of palliative care
- ‘Integration’ of assisted dying and palliative care provision
We are interested in collaborating on other case studies relating to end of life care around the world.
In addition to the Global Interventions project, the Glasgow End of Life Studies Group is also involved in other research and related activities, including:
- Consulting on the Scottish Government Strategic Framework for Action in End of Life Care in Scotland (2015)
- Reporting to the Scottish Parliament Health and Sport Committee inquiry on palliative care
- Researching palliative and end of life care provision in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland
- Creating biographical works on Dame Cicely Saunders
- Researching and developing the Crichton Care Campus idea
- Updating the Global Atlas of Palliative Care
- Updating the study of the imminence of death of hospital inpatients
- Advising on the EAPC Task Force on the Development of Palliative Care in Europe
- Researching spirituality and palliative care
- Creating Open Educational Resources (OERs) in collaboration with the Open University
- Producing public engagement activities
Our students
We have several excellent PhD and undergraduate students, from the University of Glasgow and visiting from other institutions. Our students are closely involved with our research and the activities of the Glasgow End of Life Studies Group.
In context
Over a million deaths occur in the world every week. The figure will almost double over the next 40 years. With population ageing and evolving patterns of mortality and morbidity, care for people at the end of life is set to become one of the most pressing humanitarian issues of the 21st century.
In many countries, perceptions of the ‘the good death’ are being shaped by different modes of practice, by evolving cultural and resource factors, by the interventions of key actors, professions and protagonists and by changing ethical and moral reasoning. Yet when social science could be offering a great deal to these debates, we believe it is failing to achieve significant academic and policy impact. Recent social research on end of life issues has often been too remote to be relevant to policy and practice or too embedded in the field to stimulate new thinking and innovation.
At a time when how we should die has become a matter of huge international importance, we seek to open up new frontiers for research and knowledge exchange in this important and developing field.
Our approach
We wish to re-frame social science research on end of life care in the international context, providing knowledge to shape policy, service and practice development globally. We are addressing these issues from an interdisciplinary perspective and trying to create an innovative framework for studies in care at the end of life, bringing high levels of methodological and theoretical rigour, coupled with a far-reaching synthesis of empirical evidence.
Our approach is to bring together the best ideas and perspectives from the social sciences, humanities, public health and clinical disciplines.
We aim to work openly and collaboratively, and welcome your suggestions and feedback.
The Glasgow End of Life Studies Group
Listen to our podcasts on SoundCloud
[…] Joe Wood is a PhD candidate in English Literature at the University of Glasgow, Dumfries Campus, examining the conceptual background to the idea of ‘total pain’ used by the hospice pioneer, Cicely Saunders. He is part of the Glasgow End of Life Studies Group. […]
I would like to subscribe to this blog as I will be starting my End of Life Studies course in January. How do I do this, please.
Hi Snezana! If you head to our homepage: http://endoflifestudies.academicblogs.co.uk/ You’ll see on the right hand side of the page some ‘Top Posts’ and some categories. Underneath this, there a section which reads “Join 3,841 other subscribers. Your email address. Subscribe”
Simply enter your email address here and you will receive confirmation that you have subscribed!
Best wishes,
Amy
As a patient partner with lived experience of inequities in policied and implementation of EOL Care ,and a former Development Studies researcher and analyst for equity issues in multidinsional aspects of social planning, I thank Dr Richards for recognizing the issues of disparities on this critical theme of Quality Care.
I would also like to refer her and others at the EOL Studies Group to my recent Paper in the Journal of Medical and Internet Research (JMIR, June 2022) dealing with digital dimensions of equity concerns for older adults who belong to ethnic minority communities.
Following the suggestion of the NAM/ IOM , it is time we acknowledge the role of the Social Determinats , to bridge the “chasms” in all aspects of Quality Care, but most critically, in complex issues of End of Life Care.