Abstract
BackgroundThe modern hospice movement is often recognised as a social movement. However, such understanding is primarily based on historic reflection and this approach has lacked theoretical exploration. There is a lack of systematic examination of the modern hospice movement by way of social movement theories.AimFocusing on the Chinese socio-cultural context of Macao, this study aimed to understand the EoLC movement by applying the social movement theory, the Framing Perspective, as proposed by Snow and Benford in 1988.MethodsA case study approach was conducted. Semi-structured interviews were held between 2012 and 2013, with pioneers (n = 11) of the EoLC in Macao. Thematic analysis was adopted to analyse the interviews.ResultsThe Framing Perspective analysis illuminated that there was both growth and stagnation of the EoLC movement. Three themes emerged: 1) the suffering of people at the end of their lives was considered as a social problem needed to be addressed urgently, 2) the incoherent EoLC strategies developed by pioneers indicated the lack of internal ideological cohesion within the movement, 3) external constraints contributed to the stagnation of the movement.ConclusionsThe EoLC development in Macao can be understood as a social movement. The Framing Perspective provided a theoretical way to understand the emergence of EoLC; offering a novel perspective to conceptualise the modern hospice movement. This sociological and theoretical lens opened up new ways for future research to study the emergence of EoLC in different socio-cultural contexts.
Highlights
The modern hospice movement is often recognised as a social movement
Three themes emerged: 1) the suffering of people at the end of their lives was considered as a social problem needed to be addressed urgently, 2) the incoherent End of Life Care (EoLC) strategies developed by pioneers indicated the lack of internal ideological cohesion within the movement, 3) external constraints contributed to the stagnation of the movement
The Framing Perspective provided a theoretical way to understand the emergence of EoLC; offering a novel perspective to conceptualise the modern hospice movement
Summary
The modern hospice movement is often recognised as a social movement Such understand‐ ing is primarily based on historic reflection and this approach has lacked theoretical exploration. There is a lack of systematic examination of the modern hospice movement by way of social movement theories. While the modern hospice movement is acknowledged and referred to as a social movement [1], there is a lack of exploration of the emergence of end of life care These studies have offered a theoretical examination of the hospice movement, they primarily examined the institutional structure of hospice care, and the broader shift of the hospice movement to a professionally driven discipline. There is still a lack of systematic examination of the emergence of EoLC as a social movement, especially by way of a social movement theory. Macao was not included in the quality of death index published by the Economist Intelligence Unit [29] and no assessment has far been found that dealt with an evaluation of the quality of EoLC offered in Macao
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