Recorded as part of The Open Thanatology 2024 Conference on the 18th June 2024 this episode features a panel discussion around the question of how can we raise a generation that is prepared for death?

Our hosts, Jackie King-Owen (Staff Tutor in Social Work at The Open University, with a keen interest and involvement in bereavement support) and Professor Erica Borgstrom (Professor of Medical Anthropology and lead for Open Thanatology) were joined by five expert panellists, John Adams (Funeral Director & Funeral Industry Advisor to the UK Child Bereavement Network); Jackie Butler (Communications and Copywriting Specialist, St Luke’s Hospice, Plymouth); Eleanor Ellerslie (CYP Project Manager, Cruse Bereavement Care, Northern Ireland); Christine Irvine, (Senior Policy Manager, Marie Curie, Northern Ireland) and Gail Precious, (Programme Manager, UK Child Bereavement Network) (and a large live online audience!) who brought a range of perspectives to the topic.

Slides and presentations referred to during the discussion are available to view using this link.

You can find out more about Open Thanatology on X (@OpenThanatology) or by clicking on the following link ⁠Open Thanatology | Faculty of Wellbeing, Education and Language Studies.⁠You can join our news mailing list to hear about new episodes, events, new publications, and much more by clicking on this link ⁠JISCMail - Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the OPENTHANATOLOGYNEWS List

Recorded on the 24th January 2024 this episode features a panel discussion around the question of should communities be expected to help in death, dying and bereavement?

Our hosts, Dr Joanne Jordan (Research Fellow and Deputy Lead for Open Thanatology) and Professor Erica Borgstrom (Professor of Medical Anthropology and lead for Open Thanatology) were joined by three expert panellists, Caroline Gibb (Community Development Lead at Scottish Partnership for Palliative Care); Dr Chantal Meystre (Director of The Omega Course which delivers experiential education to pre-morbid people in the community) and Dr Guy Peryer (Lecturer with a NIHR Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) East of England Palliative and End of Life Care Research Fellowship) (and a large live online audience!) who brought a range of perspectives to the topic.

You can find out more about Open Thanatology on X (@OpenThanatology) or by clicking on the following link Open Thanatology | Faculty of Wellbeing, Education and Language Studies. You can join our news mailing list to hear about new episodes, events, new publications, and much more by clicking on this link JISCMail - Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the OPENTHANATOLOGYNEWS List

Listen to our inaugural episode of Open Thanatology Talks!

Co-hosted by Prof Erica Borgstrom (Professor of Medical Anthropology and lead for Open Thanatology) and Dr Libby Sallnow (Palliative Care Consultant and lead author for the Lancet Commission on the Value of Death) this episode features a panel discussion about the concept of a good death. Is it tyrannical or useful?

In this episode you’ll hear from Dr Aileen Collier (Associate Professor in Palliative Care and Aged Care Nursing at Flinders University in Australia), Hanum Atikasari (PhD Candidate at the Institute of Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology in Leiden University in the Netherlands), and Smriti Rana (Head of Policy & Strategic Partnerships at Pallium India).

You can watch a recording of the full webinar and see an unedited transcript here.

Key Literature:

In this episode, a recent paper by Aileen and her colleague is mentioned which discusses matters of care and the good death - rhetoric or reality? The paper is not open access but people can contact Aileen for a copy.

Collier, A & Chapman, M 2023, 'Matters of care and the good death - rhetoric or reality?', Current opinion in supportive and palliative care, vol. 17, no. 3, pp. 208-213. https://doi.org/10.1097/SPC.0000000000000663

Erica and Libby have also written a blog post on the topic of good death and Erica has written a critical analysis of the concept of good death in English end of life care policy. A free to access version of the article is available here.

@EricaBorgstrom @libby_sallnow @AileenCollier15 @HanumAtikasari @SmritiRana0702