HUMANISTIC PALLIATIVE CARE - INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES OF DEATH, DYING, BEREAVEMENT AND CARE

Michael Hviid Jacobsen

Professor of Sociology and Director of Studies Aalborg University, Denmark

HUMANISTIC PALLIATIVE CARE

- INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES

OF DEATH, DYING,

STRUCTURE OF THE PRESENTATION

• Background for the Master’s Program in Humanistic Palliative Care • What Is ‘Humanistic Palliative Care’?

• The Purpose of the Master’s Program • The Structure of the Master’s Program • Practical Details of the Master’s Program

• The Students Attending the Master’s Program • Experiences with the Master’s Program

“There is life in death and death

in life, but perhaps more life in

life, if death is a part of it”

- Villy Sørensen

BACKGROUND FOR THE MASTER’S

PROGRAM (‘HUMPAL’)

• A task force appointed by The Danish Cancer Society (Kræftens

Bekæmpelse) in 2006/2007 discussed how to develop the emerging

field of palliative care in Denmark

• Aalborg University proposed a Master’s Program in Humanistic

Palliative Care, which was subsequently accepted and officially accredited by the Danish Ministry of Education in late 2008

• The first group of 15 students started on February 1st 2010

• By now, close to 25 students (divided over two year groups) have

followed the Master’s Program, the first group completed the

program in 2012, whereas the second group is about to start writing their master’s theses this autumn

WHAT IS ‘HUMANISTIC PALLIATIVE CARE’?

• An integrated and interdisciplinary approach to the academic study of

and practice in relation to death, dying, bereavement and care

• By stressing the ‘humanistic’ aspect, several important points are

indicated:

• Scientifically: The Master’s Program generally builds on

knowledge generated within a broad humanistic-social scientific tradition (as opposed to a natural scientific/medical approach)

• Methodologically: The methods and methodological approaches

taught on the program primarily (but not exclusively) come from qualitative and interpretative perspectives on research (such as interviews, observation studies, discourse analyses and so on)

• Morally: The purpose of the Master’s Program is to develop

knowledge that will benefit professional practice and thus ultimately have an impact on the quality of care for the terminally ill and dying

THE PURPOSE OF THE MASTER’S PROGRAM

• To develop and expand the understanding of ‘palliative care’ beyond

conventional clinical and medical confines

• To develop a specialized, interdisciplinary and combined approach to the

study of death, dying, bereavement and care as well as to professional practice within the field (combining ‘thanatology’ – the study of death – with actual palliative care practice)

• To facilitate an understanding and collaboration between different groups

of professionals working with death, dying, bereavement and care and to support their aspirations to do research into their own professional

practice

• To create a scientific foundation for theoretical, methodological, empirical

and practical developments within palliative care practice

THE STRUCTURE OF THE MASTER’S PROGRAM

Module 1:

Module 2:

- Death in the History of Ideas,

Culture and Religion

- Humanistic Research Methods - Open ‘Formative Lectures’/Films

Module 3:

- The Sociology of Death - The Psycology of Death

- Open ‘Formative Lectures’/Films

Module 4:

- Master’s Thesis

PRACTICAL DETAILS OF THE PROGRAM

• The program takes two years (four modules) as a part-time study program

– all teaching sessions take place in Aalborg at the university campus

• Each module amounts to 15 ECTS points (60 ECTS altogether) • Each module (expect for the final module) consists of between 4-5

teaching sessions once every month covering two-three days each

• Students will be required to read approximately 1000-1500 pages per

module (excluding literature chosen for one’s project)

• All modules (excluding the first module) are organized around the student’s

own project work (individual or collaborative)

• Modules can be attended individually (they can also be attended from afar) • The cost of each module is 35.000 Danish Crowns (approximately £3500)

EXPERIENCES WITH THE MASTER’S PROGRAM

• Students have worked with a variety of highly interesting and useful problems related either to their own immediate practice or to more general areas such as:

• The need for pediatric palliation

• Developing palliative care for the demented or the socially vulnerable • Taboos in hospice settings

• Content analysis of My Last Will (Min sidste vilje) • Death-bed scenes in contemporary society

• Priests’ conceptions of salvation and belief in palliative care

• Many student projects have subsequently been reworked and either published in academic journals, books or used as presentations at conferences

• In module evaluations, students have stated that the Master’s Program has challenged their understanding of their own practice, that it has reinvigorated their interest in their daily work, that it has taught them to think theoretically about practice as well as inspiring them to think about their professional lives and personal convictions in new ways

THE STUDENTS ATTENDING THE

MASTER’S PROGRAM

• Professional backgrounds: Students come from a variety of

different professional backgrounds, most students however coming from nursing practice (hospice, home care, nursing homes or

hospitals), a few hospital/hospice priests, a few doctors, a funeral

director, a psychotherapist and a physiotherapist – all of whom have a professional contact with the dying, the deceased or the relatives

• Requirements for admission: An academic bachelor’s degree or a

professions-based bachelor degree and a minimum of two years documented professional experience (applicants, however, may be accepted and enrolled based on an individual assessment)

THANK YOU FOR YOUR

ATTENTION …