There is lots of interest in deaths cafés right now. As part of our research project Global Interventions at the End of Life we are examining death cafés as a ‘cultural intervention’ – how they have come about, who organises and attends them, what part they may play in wider discourses about death and dying… Continue reading
Dr Thomas J Lynch of Johns Hopkins University asks whether at the ‘end’ there is any ‘point’? I left the North-West of England for the Eastern Seaboard of the United States of America almost 18 months ago to take a position at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. Since my arrival in the USA, I have… Continue reading
Ronald Macintyre of Opening Educational Practices in Scotland (OEPS) gives an introduction to their open learning project and explains why our teams are working together to develop learning resources for people interested in end of life issues. Who are OEPS? The easiest way to talk about who we are and what we do is to… Continue reading
Recent weeks have been exciting ones for the international palliative care community. The 14th World Congress of the European Association of Palliative Care was held in Copenhagen from 8 – 10 May 2015 and the 4th International Public Health and Palliative Care Conference took place in Bristol from 11th – 16th May 2015. We at… Continue reading
What puts the ‘public’ in public health palliative care? A flurry of men and women with name badges and conference bags over their shoulders could be seen in the corridor of the Bristol Marriot Hotel at the start of the 4th International Public Health and Palliative Care Conference. I found myself an empty seat in… Continue reading
Copenhagen was home to Hans Christian Anderson and Soren Kierkegaard, so at this conference I was hoping for a stimulating mix of narrative and reflection. That was certainly present in some of the sessions. There were good stories to be told and some deep thinking in evidence about the challenges that palliative care faces. The… Continue reading
Our University of Glasgow study team, supported by a Wellcome Trust Investigator Award, is examining how responses to end of life issues are developing around the world, and with what consequences. Death, dying and bereavement are topics that mainly sit on the margins of the humanities and social sciences. Whilst end of life care attracts… Continue reading
The 1970s and 1980s saw palliative care services starting all over Britain – hospices and NHS ‘continuing care units’, day units, home care services, hospital consultation services, ‘hospice at home’. Those were undeniably exciting times but they brought many problems and challenges. Where were the trained staff? There were no plans or policies in place… Continue reading
