Ageing and End of Life Care

Within the Ageing and End of Life Care research theme activity are two research Centres that focus on ageing and palliative and end of life care research.

Core themes of work undertaken by Centre for Ageing Research (C4AR) members within DHR include social science approaches to: active ageing, older people and new technologies - including the impact of telecare and telehealth and digital literacy amongst older people; therapeutic environments to support healthy ageing - including supported living at home and informal care-giving. It also includes work on the psychological aspects of chronic illness in old age, emotional distress and social isolation.

The International Observatory on End of Life Care (IOELC) is one of the leading international academic centres in End of Life Studies and plays a major role in delivering research that influences the strategic direction of service development nationally and internationally. The focus of our research is to understand organisational models of care, and their delivery in different countries, health and economic systems and physical environments. Improving access to adequate symptom relief and psychological support to patients and bereavement support to families is a major public health challenge. The IOELC has had a considerable impact on the development of palliative care, by undertaking research and evaluations of services at a local, national and international level.

Research Groups

• Centre for Ageing Research
• International Observatory on End of Life Care