Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-wq2xx Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-23T11:03:16.568Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Global Spread of Death Café: A Cultural Intervention Relevant to Policy?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 March 2020

Naomi Richards ,
Gitte H. Koksvik ,
Sheri Mila Gerson  and
David Clark
Naomi Richards
Affiliation:
School of Interdisciplinary Studies, University of Glasgow, E-mail: Naomi.Richards@Glasgow.ac.uk
Gitte H. Koksvik
Affiliation:
School of Interdisciplinary Studies, University of Glasgow, E-mail: Gitte.Koksvik@Glasgow.ac.uk
Sheri Mila Gerson
Affiliation:
School of Interdisciplinary Studies, University of Glasgow, E-mail: Sheri.Gerson@Glasgow.ac.uk
David Clark
Affiliation:
School of Interdisciplinary Studies, University of Glasgow, E-mail: David.Clark.2@Glasgow.ac.uk
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

New demographic and epidemiological trends mean people are dying at older ages and over long periods of time, from multiple, chronic illnesses. There is a perception that these growing and changing needs will require novel community responses. One starting point is having ‘conversations’ about dying and death, and in this the phenomenon of ‘Death Café’ merits attention. In the first study of its kind, we report on interviews with forty-nine Death Café organisers in thirty-four countries, exploring how this ‘cultural intervention’, first developed in the UK, has transferred elsewhere. Using thematic analysis, we identify competing tensions between: local translation of Death Café and a desire for international alignment alongside instrumental use of the Death Café form and its incidental effects. The passion and commitment of Death Café organisers is compelling but may not lead to the behavioural change required to support a new public face of dying.

Keywords

Ageingcommunicationcommunitydeath and dyingsocial movement
Type
Articles
Information
Social Policy and Society , Volume 19 , Issue 4 , October 2020 , pp. 553 - 572
Copyright
© Cambridge University Press 2020

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abel, J., Bowra, J., Walter, T. and Howarth, G. (2011) ‘Compassionate community networks: supporting home dying’, BMJ Supportive and Palliative Care, 1, 129–33.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Adler, S., Remer, R., Coulter, Y. Z. and Miller, J. B. (2015) ‘Death Cafés: a tool for teaching about end of life in both academic and community settings (FR469-E)’, Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 49, 2, 386–87.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Árnason, A. and Hafsteinsson, S. B. (2003) ‘The revival of death: expression, expertise and governmentality’, British Journal of Sociology, 54, 1, 43–62.Google ScholarPubMed
Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Government (2019) Report of the Select Committee on End of Life Choices in the ACT, https://www.parliament.act.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/1334992/9th-EOLC-Report.pdf [accessed 01.06.2019].Google Scholar
Australian Coalition to End Loneliness (2017) Australian Coalition to End Loneliness Campaign, https://www.endloneliness.com.au [accessed 01.06.2019]Google Scholar
Baldwin, P. K. (2017) ‘Death Cafés: death doulas and family communication’, Behavioural Sciences, 7, 2, 26.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
BBC World News (2014) Death Café, 3 June, https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=194&v=hHk71wec198 [accessed 01.06.2019].Google Scholar
Borgstrom, E. and Walter, T. (2015) ‘Choice and compassion at the end of life: a critical analysis of recent English policy discourse’, Social Science and Medicine, 136-37, 95–105.Google ScholarPubMed
Bruntink, R. (2019) ‘Advances-Adventures-Actions presentation’, 7th International Advanced Care Planning Conference, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, 13-16 March.Google Scholar
Campaign to End Loneliness UK (2018) Be More Us Campaign, https://bemoreus.org.uk [accessed 01.06.2019].Google Scholar
Clark, D., Inbadas, H., Colburn, B., Forrest, C., Richards, N., Whitelaw, S. and Zaman, S. (2017) ‘Interventions at the end of life – a taxonomy for ‘overlapping consensus’, Wellcome Open Research, 2, 7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Czarniawska, B. and Sevón, G. (2005) Global Ideas: How Ideas, Objects, and Practices Travel in the Global Economy, Frederiksberg, Denmark: Liber and Copenhagen Business School Press.Google Scholar
Dolowitz, D. and Marsh, D. (1996) ‘Who learns what from whom: a review of the policy transfer literature’, Political Studies, 44, 2, 343–57, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9248.1996.tb00334.xCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fisher, H. E., Craig, C. and Chamberlain, P. (2019) ‘Life Café. A co-designed method of engagement’, The Design Journal, 22, Sup 1, 445–61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fong, J. (2017) The Death Café Movement: Exploring the Horizons of Mortality, London: Palgrave Macmillan.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Foster, L., Woodthorpe, K. and Walker, A. (2019) ‘From cradle to grave? Policy responses to death in the UK’, Mortality 24, 1, 1–16.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Francis, A. (2019) ‘Epilogue’, in Loftland, L. H., The Craft of Dying: The Modern Face of Death (40th Anniversary Edition), London: MIT Press.Google Scholar
Gomes, B., Calanzani, N., Gysels, M., Hall, S. and Higginson, I. J. (2013) ‘Heterogeneity and changes in preferences for dying at home: a systematic review’, BMC Palliative Care, 12, 1, 7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Green, L., Daley, A., Ward, A. and Wilcock, T. (2016) ‘P-34: if death cafés are the answer, what is the question?’, BMJ Supportive and Palliative Care, 6, A21.Google Scholar
Guinness, M. (2010) ‘Never say die? Far from it in Paris death café’, The Independent, 1 November.Google Scholar
Hammer, R., Ravindran, N. and Nielsen, N. (2019) ‘Can Death Cafés resuscitate morale in hospitals?’, BMJ Medical Humanities, Published Online First: 19 January 2019. doi: 10.1136/medhum-2018-011607.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
HelpAge Canada (2018) Reach Isolated Seniors Everywhere (RISE) Campaign, https://rise-cisa.ca/about/rise-campaign/ [accessed 01.06.2019].Google Scholar
Hospice, UK (2018) Dying Matters, https://www.dyingmatters.org [accessed 01.06.2019].Google Scholar
Institute for Healthcare Improvement (2019) The Conversation Project, https://theconversationproject.org [accessed 01.06.2019].Google Scholar
Involve Foundation (2018) Conversation Café, The Involve Foundation, https://www.involve.org.uk/resources/methods/conversation-cafes [accessed 01.06.2019].Google Scholar
Kellehear, A. (2005) Compassionate Cities: Public Health and End of Life Care, London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Kumar, S. (2004) ‘Learning from low income countries: what are the lessons? Palliative care can be delivered through neighbourhood network’, BMJ, 329, 1184.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Leeson, G. W. (2014) ‘Increasing longevity and the new demography of death’, International Journal of Population Research, Article ID 521523, 7 pages. doi: 10.1155/2014/521523.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Leland, J. (2018) ‘The positive death movement comes to life’, The New York Times, 22 June.Google Scholar
Levitas, R. A. (1977) ‘Some problems of aim-centred models of social movements’, Sociology, 11, 1, 47–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lofland, L. (2018[1978]) The Craft of Dying: The Modern Face of Death (40th Anniversary Edition, London: MIT Press.Google Scholar
Lynn, J. (2005) ‘Living long in fragile health: the new demographics shape end of life care’, Hastings Center Report, 35, s14–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meltzer, M. (2018) ‘How death got cool’, The Guardian, 12 January.Google Scholar
Miles, L. and Corr, C. A. (2017) ‘Death Café: what is it and what we can learn from it’, OMEGA–Journal of Death and Dying, 75, 2, 151–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
National End of Life Care Partnership (2015) Ambitions for Palliative and End of Life Care: A National Framework for Local Action 2015-2020, http://endoflifecareambitions.org.uk/ [accessed 01.06.2019].Google Scholar
Noonan, K., Horsfall, D., Leonard, R. and Rosenberg, J. (2016) ‘Developing death literacy’, Progress in Palliative Care, 24, 1, 31–3.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Public Health Palliative Care International (2010) Creating Compassionate Communities, http://www.phpci.info/ [accessed 01.06.2019].Google Scholar
Ritchie, J., Spencer, L. and O’Connor, W. (2005) ‘Carrying out qualitative analysis’, in Ritchie, J., Spencer, L. and O’Connor, W. (eds.), Qualitative Research Practice: A Guide for Social Science Students and Researchers, London: SAGE publications.Google Scholar
Rose, N. (1992) ‘Governing the enterprising self’, in Heelas, P. and Morris, P. (eds.), The Values of the Enterprise Culture: The Moral Debate, London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Royal College of Physicians (2018) Talking About Dying: How to Begin Honest Conversations About What Lies Ahead, London: Our Future Health.Google Scholar
Snow, D. A., Rochford, E., Worden, S. K. and Benford, R. D. (1986) ‘Frame alignment processes, micromobilization, and movement participation’, American Sociological Review, 51, 4, 464–81.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Underwood, J. (2011) ‘Guide to running your own Death Café’, https://deathcafe.com/site_media/files/guide.pdf [accessed 01.06.2019].Google Scholar
United Nations (2019) Ageing, https://www.un.org/en/sections/issues-depth/ageing/ [accessed 01.06.2019].Google Scholar
Walter, T. (1995) The Revival of Death, London and New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Wegleitner, K., Heimerl, K. and Kellehear, A. (2015) Compassionate Communities: Case Studies from Britain and Europe, London: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Williams, J. M. G. and Kabat-Zinn, J. (2011) ‘Mindfulness: diverse perspectives on its meaning, origins, and multiple applications at the intersection of science and dharma’, Contemporary Buddhism, 12, 1, 1–18.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zaman, S., Whitelaw, A., Richards, N., Inbadas, H. and Clark, D. (2018) ‘A moment for compassion: emerging rhetorics in end-of-life care’, Medical Humanities, 44, 140–3.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zibaite, S. (as yet unpublished) ‘An ethnographic study of the Death Café movement in the UK’, Unsubmitted PhD Thesis.Google Scholar