- The Planning Ahead website was launched on 10 December
- The planning tool is based on 18 months of research by Dr Alexis Paton, co-director of the Centre for Health and Society at Aston University
- The website, supported and hosted by Hospice UK, enables people to make choices about end of life care.
Research conducted in the Centre for Health and Society at Aston University has been used to inform the design of a new website to support people in advance care planning.
The Planning Ahead website, launched on 10 December, is supported and hosted by Hospice UK, the national charity working for those experiencing dying, death and bereavement.
Dr Alexis Paton, a lecturer in social epidemiology and the sociology of health, whose research focuses on how sociology and medical ethics can improve healthcare services, spent 18 months working with stakeholders on the research used to develop this resource.
To support the launch of the website, end of life care consultant and best-selling writer Dr Kathryn Mannix has written about the planning tool to explain why individuals might find it helpful.
Alexis Paton, co-director of the Centre for Health and Society at Aston University, said:
“Everyone has the right to make choices about how they want to live, based on what matters most to us. We are each unique, with different ideas about what matters most to us, and so we make different choices in our lives. This is no different when it comes to healthcare. When faced with an illness and decisions to make about that illness, we all make different choices about how we would like to be treated.
“It is not always possible to make these important healthcare decisions when we are ill, and so this website is about thinking ahead about some of those choices and what we would want to happen in the future. Doing so allows us to consider what matters most to us, and writing them down helps us ensure our decisions are honoured when we are ill—especially when we are not able to make decisions ourselves.
“Advance planning is for everyone—all ages, all states of health. We hope this website helps encourage more conversations with those we love about our wishes and choices for our future health.
“The website is a ‘work in progress’, as we can always learn more about how to support people making healthcare decisions. Patients, professionals and the public are encouraged to take a look and offer feedback to the development group via an embedded link to Aston University’s Centre for Health and Society.”
You can find out more about the work of the Centre for Health and Society on its website.
- Notes to Editors
Founded in 1895 and a University since 1966, Aston is a long established university led by its three main beneficiaries – students, business and the professions, and our region and society. Aston University is located in Birmingham and at the heart of a vibrant city and the campus houses all the university’s academic, social and accommodation facilities for our students. Professor Alec Cameron is the Vice-Chancellor & Chief Executive.
Aston University was named University of the Year 2020 by The Guardian and the University’s full time MBA programme has been ranked in the top 100 in the world in the Economist MBA 2021 ranking. The Aston MBA has been ranked 12th in the UK and 85th in the world.
For media inquiries in relation to this release, contact Sam Cook, Press and Communications Manager, on (+44)744691 0063 or email: s.cook2@aston.ac.uk
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