About the Glasgow End of Life Studies Group
We conduct interdisciplinary research on end of life issues, collaborating with communities, policy makers, practitioners and academics worldwide
Our Work in Context
Over a million deaths occur in the world every week and this will almost double by 2055.
With the ageing of the world's population, and patterns of mortality and morbidity evolving, we believe that care for people at the end of life is going to become one of the most pressing humanitarian issues of this century. How we die has become a matter of international importance.
Perceptions of 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.
Although the social sciences could be adding to these debates, we believe our academic field is currently failing to make a significant impact on policy. Recent social research on end of life issues has often been too remote to be relevant to policy and practice, or it is too embedded in the field to stimulate new thinking and innovation.
We aim to develop new frontiers for research and knowledge exchange in this important field.
Our Research
As a Research Group, we individually and collectively undertake projects on a number of different topics. The overarching aim of all of these projects is to shine a light on the varied individual and collective responses to the challenges presented by death, dying and bereavement in a rapidly changing world.
Here are some of our current projects:
- World map of palliative care
- Dying in the margins
- Death Doulas
- Assisted Dying
- Liverpool Care Pathway
- Total pain
- Death Café
- Reading & Writing Death & Dying
- Mitori – Comparing Policy in Japan and the UK
- Evaluating Community Palliative Care in Kerala, India
- Cicely Saunders
- Housing with care
Members of the Glasgow End of Life Studies Group are involved in many other 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
- Collaborating on developing a new Compassionate Community in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland
- Marie Curie and hospital dying
- Advocating for the development of a Crichton Care Campus
- Lobbying for the creation of a Maggie’s Centre in Dumfries
- Advising on the EAPC Task Force on the Development of Palliative Care in Europe
- Delivering public lectures on assisted dying and old age rational suicide
- Creating a Massive Online Open Course (MOOC) on End of Life Issues
- Working with renowned artists, such as Norman Gilbert and Celine Marchbank, to undertake public exhibitions of powerful images of the end of life.
Our Approach
We wish to re-frame social science research on death, dying and bereavement 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 end of life studies, 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. To this end, we welcome your feedback and proposals for collaborative ventures.
History
The University of Glasgow End of Life Studies Group was founded by Professor David Clark OBE in 2014.
Our first grant was a four year Wellcome Trust Investigator Award to Professor Clark: Global Interventions at the End of Life. The following researchers worked on this project: Dr Shahaduz Zaman, Reverend Dr Hamilton Inbadas, Dr Gitte Koksvik, and Dr Sheri Mila Gerson.
Dr Naomi Richards joined the group in 2016 and Dr Marian Krawczyk in 2018.
We are now an established network of scholars working across the University of Glasgow and we were awarded official Research Network status in 2018.
In 2020-21, we launched our entirely online MSc programme in End of Life Studies. This is a unique blend of bespoke courses which provide inspiration to those who, like us, are fascinated by the character and complexity of end of life issues.
This unique programme of learning represents a new stage in the development of the Glasgow End of Life Studies Group, further internationalising our scope and providing extensive opportunities for hands-on research on various global challenges at the end of life.
Study With Us
We have several PhD students and we often host visiting students and academics from other institutions around the world.
Our postgraduate research students are closely involved with our research and play an active role in the activities of the Glasgow End of Life Studies Group.
We have created a free online MOOC in partnership with FutureLearn: End of Life Care: Challenges and Innovation which is open to all. This short course runs multiple times throughout the year and is moderated by our Research team.
In 2020-21, we launched our entirely online MSc/PGDip/PGCert programme in End of Life Studies. This is a unique blend of bespoke courses which provides inspiration to those who, like us, are fascinated by the character and complexity of end of life issues.
If you'd like to find out more, please contact us.
Find Out More
Our staff, students and guest bloggers use the End of Life Studies 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.
Listen to our podcasts on SoundCloud
Watch related videos on UofG End of Life Studies YouTube
Follow us on Facebook or Twitter
@EndofLifeStudy