PA29 How has the natural death movement has been liftinig the lid on dying and funerals for 25 years?

Abstract

'Birth' was reclaimed through the natural child birth movement in the 1970s and went on to inspire the origins of the natural death movement in the UK. The Natural Death Centre charity was launched in 1991 to reclaim death. However with any people's movement it responded to demand from the public into funerals. Until the last decade the funeral industry was a closed shop and the natural death movement has led consumer driven demand for change. The conference presentation will apply academic scrutiny to the history of the movement. As an anarchist movement the aims of the Natural Death Centre are fluid and ever evolving. The conference presentation involves identifying key milestones in the natural death movement and the influences for change. Audio interviews with key leaders in the UK natural death movement will be transcribed and a content analysis will draw themes applied to the four concepts of a public health approach to palliative care. The results will allow an academic scrutiny to the UK natural death movement to act as a catalyst for change and creating new visions to share with the wider public health approach to palliative care community. The natural death movement is embracing and evolved away from traditional structures of health and palliative care. It complements more traditional methods for change.