Space and place in end-of-life care

Dying and death is something we all face sooner or later, either through a death among those close to us or in relation to our own mortality. But death is still something we rarely talk about and many people today are ill-prepared for their encounters with dying, death and loss.

DöBra is a national research program which aims to raise issues about dying, death and grief to enable people to be better prepared for their encounters with the end-of-life. The overall goal of DöBra is to reduce avoidable suffering related to dying, death and grief, and to use innovative means to integrate rigorous research and sustainable change processes. Konstfack has been involved in this program for many years through several student projects and courses, one of which was carried out at the hospice Ersta hospital. Konstfack's researchers have also participated in projects and activities.

Currently, professor Bo Westerlund is involved in the project Space and place in end-of-life care. The purpose of the project is to understand and improve factors that support well-being from different perspectives in environments where care in life ends. The project is being carried out together with two departments in a larger retirement home in Stockholm, where exploration takes place with residents, family, staff and researchers. Konstfack contributes with design expertise, and other researchers are from Karolinska Institute, Stockholm University and Stockholm University of the Arts.

Financed by Formas
Researcher at Konstfack: Professor Bo Westerlund
Project period: 2017-2020