UCL Discovery
UCL home » Library Services » Electronic resources » UCL Discovery

Notes from the hospital bedside: Reflections on researcher roles and responsibilities at the end of life in dementia

Sampson, EL; Swarbrick, C; Keady, J; (2017) Notes from the hospital bedside: Reflections on researcher roles and responsibilities at the end of life in dementia. Quality in Ageing and Older Adults , 18 (3) pp. 188-200. 10.1108/QAOA-09-2016-0038. Green open access

[thumbnail of PDF_Proof.pdf]
Preview
Text
PDF_Proof.pdf - Accepted Version

Download (274kB) | Preview

Abstract

PURPOSE: The purpose of this paper is to explore some of the ethical and practical dilemmas faced by an experienced researcher in undertaking research with a person with dementia (whom we have called Amy). Amy died shortly after a period of observation had ended and the family subsequently consented to the data being shared. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH This individual case study presentation was nested within a larger study conducted in England and Scotland between 2013 and 2014. The overall aim of the main study was to investigate how healthcare professionals and informal carers recognised, assessed and managed pain in patients living with dementia in a range of acute settings. FINDINGS: The presented case study of Amy raises three critical reflection points: (i) Researcher providing care, i.e. the place and positioning of compassion in research observation; (ii) What do the stories mean? i.e. the reframing of Amy's words, gestures and behaviours as (end of) life review, potentially highlights unresolved personal conflicts and reflections on loss; and (iii) Communication is embodied, i.e. the need to move beyond the recording of words to represent lived experience and into more multi-sensory methods of data capture. ORIGINALITY/VALUE: Researcher guidance and training about end of life observations in dementia is presently absent in the literature and this case study stimulates debate in a much overlooked area, including the role of ethics committees.

Type: Article
Title: Notes from the hospital bedside: Reflections on researcher roles and responsibilities at the end of life in dementia
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1108/QAOA-09-2016-0038
Publisher version: http://dx.doi.org//10.1108/QAOA-09-2016-0038
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
Keywords: Ethics, Pain, Dementia, Researcher reflexivity, End of life, Life review
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Division of Psychiatry
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1568295
Downloads since deposit
113Downloads
Download activity - last month
Download activity - last 12 months
Downloads by country - last 12 months

Archive Staff Only

View Item View Item