Palliative Care and Hospice

This book offers a comprehensive collection of seminal research into palliative care and hospice, providing an invaluable resource for anyone seeking to deepen their understanding of end-of-life care, hospice practices, and the care of the dying. Drawing on articles published in Mortality, an academic journal dedicated to the study of death, dying, grief, bereavement, and memorialization, the chapters span a wide range of international and institutional contexts. Together, they demonstrate the breadth and depth of research into end-of-life care practices, experiences, and settings, offering insights into the evolving field of palliative care. The volume opens with a preface that contextualizes the significant role Mortality has played in advancing research and understanding of palliative care both in the UK and internationally. From foundational works such as reflections on hospice care and the origins of St Christopher's Hospice to contemporary studies on cultural humility in perinatal palliative care, the book explores critical themes including the evolution of palliative care, health-promoting social models, bi-cultural research approaches, and the challenges of providing care in diverse settings such as correctional facilities and low-income contexts. This book is essential reading for scholars, practitioners, and students in fields such as palliative care, hospice care, social work, nursing, public health, and medical humanities. It also appeals to those interested in the broader subjects of death studies, grief, and bereavement.

Erica Borgstrom is a Professor of Medical Anthropology at The Open University in the United Kingdom. She was Mortality Co-Editor-in-Chief from 2020 to 2024. Bethan Michael-Fox is Lecturer in English Literature and Creative Writing at The Open University in the United Kingdom. She has been the Mortality Managing Editor since 2020. Arnar Árnason is Senior Lecturer in Anthropology at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland. He is Mortality Co-Editor-in-Chief.

Preface 1. Hospice 2. Originating a movement: Cicely Saunders and the development of St Christopher's Hospice, 1957-1967 3. Looking back, looking forward: The evolution of palliative and end-of-life care in England 4. Mapping and comparison of palliative care nationally and across nations: Denmark as a case in point 5. Working bi-culturally within a palliative care research context: The development of the Te Arai Palliative Care and End of Life Research Group 6. Care for the dying in contemporary Russia: The hospice movement in a low-income context 7. Health-promoting palliative care: Developing a social model for practice 8. Palliative care in the USA and England: A critical analysis of meaning and implementation towards a public health approach 9. A 'good death' for all?: Examining issues for palliative care in correctional settings 10. Tellable and untellable stories in suffering and palliative care 11. Rites of passage and the hospice culture 12. Families and the transition to specialist palliative care 13. Hospice Care: Between Existential and Medical Hope 14. "Going down" and "getting deeper": Physical and metaphorical location and movement in relation to death and spiritual care in a Scottish hospice 15. Fostering cultural humility in perinatal palliative care. An interpretative qualitative study from the United Kingdom 16. Dilemmas in the use of volunteers to provide hospice bereavement support: Evidence from New Zealand