What do Life Cafes tell us about dying and end of life care

The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that the number of deaths worldwide will increase from 56 million to 70 million by 2030. Within the United Kingdom this equates to an increase of 20% over the next five years. Not only will palliative and end of life care services be required to meet the needs of an increasing number of people who are dying but we must also respond to an increasing number of people who are dying from complex, long-term conditions such as cancer and dementia. This paper reports the findings of the first phase of a study undertaken by design researchers at Sheffield Hallam University to inform the development of new and flexible models of care that are responsive to the needs of an ageing population with increasingly complex end of care life needs. Taking the method of ‘exhibition in a box’, a form of object elicitation developed by Chamberlain and Craig (2013) as the starting point this study curated a series of creative activities, named the ‘Life Café’ to scaffold thinking and to prompt conversation.