Exploring inequalities in end-of-life care and bereavement
Lorraine Hansford’s fellowship at the Wellcome Centre focuses on inequalities in access to end-of-life care, using narrative approaches to advance understanding of the ways in which end-of-life care services may be failing to meet the needs of those living on a very low income. The research explores the notion of ‘a good death’, working in partnership with community organisations, health practitioners and those with lived experience to sensitively understand the ways in which poverty impacts people’s experiences of dying and bereavement.
By critically analysing issues of class and culture in relation to death, the project aims to understand how fear, stigma and trust impact communication and relations (between patients, carers, families, social networks, healthcare professionals and organisations). It will explore possibilities for new and relevant ways of introducing and talking about death and supporting the bereaved, and the implications for public health approaches to palliative care.
This research is supporting ongoing work for the Lancet Commission ‘Value of Death’.
Colab Connect
Lorraine Hansford was awarded funding from the Wellcome Trust to carry out a secondment at Colab Exeter for 12 months from Sept 2020. Colab was a 'wellbeing hub' hosting over 30 statutory and voluntary agencies that supported people with complex needs (e.g. homelessness, mental ill health, addiction). Focusing on the Colab Connect pilot, Lorraine evaluated the ways in which different action-learning approaches were used by this collaboration of statutory, voluntary, and community services to co-design and test an integrated community-based approach to the provision of mental health support in Exeter.
For more information contact: Lorraine Hansford
Photo: Lancet Commission on the Value of Death Conference November 2019
