Death and Social Policy in Challenging Times

by Foster, Liam; Woodthorpe, Kate

• ISBN13: 9781137484895
• ISBN10: 1137484896
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2016-01-05
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

The study of death has the capacity to bring together a range of policy areas. Yet death is often overlooked within policy debates in the UK and beyond, and within gerontology. Bringing together a range of scholars engaged in policy associated with death, this collection provides a holistic account of how death factors in social policy. Within this, issues covered include inheritance, palliative care, euthanasia, funeral costs, bereavement support, marginalised deaths and disposal practices. At the heart of the book, the volume recognises that the issues identified are likely to intensify and expand over the next twenty years, as death rates continue to rise.

Author Biography

Liam Foster is a Lecturer in Social Work at the University of Sheffield, UK. His research interests focus on funeral provision, pensions and theories of ageing. He is a member of the UK Social Policy Association Executive Committee and forthcoming Managing Editor of Social Policy and Society.
Kate Woodthorpe is a Senior Lecturer in sociology in the Department of Social and Policy Sciences at the University of Bath, UK. She is a member of the University's Centre for Death and Society and has undertaken research and published on funeral practice and cost, cemetery usage and mortuaries. She is an active member of the British Sociological Association Study Group for the Social Aspects of Death, Dying and Bereavement.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction - Why Death Matters To Policy; Liam Foster; Kate Woodthorpe
PART I: MANAGING THE END OF LIFE
2. Social Policy And Care Of Older People At The End Of Life; Julie Ellis, Michelle Winslow And Bill Noble
3. End Of Life Care Strategy And The Coalition Government; Erica Borgstrom
4. Euthanasia And Policy – Choosing When To Die; Naomi Richards
PART II: WHEN DEATH OCCURS
5. Funerals – Welfare Policy To The Grave; Liam Foster; Kate Woodthorpe
6. Cost, Choice And Diversity: Policy Issues In Burial And Cremation In England; Julie Rugg
7. Marginalised Deaths And Policy; Christine Valentine And Linda Bauld
PART III: BEYOND THE POINT OF DEATH: THE AFTERMATH
8. Bereavement Support In Later Life: An Emerging Social Problem For The 21st Century; Jodie Croxall
9. Bereavement And The Workplace; Anne Corden
10. Great Expectations? Wealth, Inheritance And Taxation; Karen Rowlingson
11. Conclusion – Where Do We Go From Here?; Liam Foster; Kate Woodthorpe