Dying-well: the contribution of leisure services to hospice care

ABSTRACT

Leisure has suffered a neglect in the palliative care literature, with clinically driven narratives often overlooking the pivotal role leisure plays within this landscape. A problem inherent in much of the existing literature is that although scholars agree about the blending of hedonia and eudaimonia, the lines between them are blurred. Therefore, this paper contributes to the existing literature by fleshing out the middle ground of the hedonia and eudaimonia continuum. Here, the authors’ term this point of equilibrium transitional leisure, which projects a liminal state of well-being. Interview data is collected from in/day/outpatients, families, and the bereaved (n = 140) associated with multiple hospices (n = 5). Findings detail the contribution of therapeutic services, therapeutic spaces, and therapeutic places to well-being. Conclusions add a further dimension to the well-being literature, an appreciation of ‘dying-well’ and the middle ground of transitional leisure. Practical implications for enhancing service delivery are presented.

KEYWORDS:

• Hospices
• hedonia
• eudaimonia
• well-being
• therapeutic landscapes

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by East Cheshire Hospice, UK; University of Liverpool, UK; Oakhaven Hospice, UK.

Notes on contributors

Ahmed Al-Abdin

Dr. Ahmed Al-Abdin is a Lecturer in Marketing and Programme Director for BA Marketing at the University of Liverpool Management School. He holds a Doctorate from Hull University Business School. His research interests are concentrated in the areas of acculturation, consumption practices, services and health research, particularly end-of-life care. He has also published in leading journals, such as the Journal of Business Research, Industrial Marketing Management, Advances in Consumer Research and the Journal of Service Research.

Philippa Hunter-Jones

Prof. Philippa Hunter-Jones is a Professor in Marketing and Director of Ethics at the University of Liverpool Management School. Her research interests are concerned with the service needs and experiences of 'vulnerable consumers', tourism, service systems, service design, transformative service research, particularly linked to the health care sector and end-of-life care. She has published in many leading journals, including the Journal of Business Research, Tourism Management, Journal of Services Marketing, Advances in Consumer Research, Journal of Marketing Management, Journal of Sustainable Tourism, Annals of Leisure Research and the Journal of Service Research.

Lynn Sudbury-Riley

Dr. Lynn Sudbury-Riley is a Senior Lecturer in Marketing and Director of Education at the University of Liverpool Management School. Her research interests have focused on the consumer behaviour of older adults. Most recently, she has researched widely into health, and in particular palliative and end-of-life care. She has published widely in leading journals, such as the Journal of Service Research, Journal of Business Research, Advances in Consumer Research, Management Decision, Journal of Advertising Research, Journal of Marketing Management and International Marketing Review.

Rachel Spence

Ms. Rachel Spence is a PhD candidate at the University of Liverpool Management School. Her thesis is focused on whether and how positive or not so positive changes are made to the lives of individuals using digital technologies, such as health/fitness applications and self-tracking wearable devices and the implications they have for hedonic and eudemonic well-being.