University of Oklahoma Professor Studying 'Dying with Dignity in Mexico'

NORMAN, Okla., Sept. 20, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- University of Oklahoma assistant professor and medical anthropologist Elyse Ona Singer, Ph.D., has received a grant from the National Science Foundation to better understand the cultural and bioethical dimensions of death and dying.

Singer and postdoctoral researcher Alicia Ordóñez Vázquez are conducting an ethnographic study across two major public hospitals' palliative care wards in Mexico City to ask questions in real-time of doctors, health care professionals and patients who agree to participate.

Palliative care describes a holistic approach that aims to improve the quality of life for patients facing serious illness, with a focus on managing symptoms such as pain and the psychological and emotional stressors of being unwell.

While palliative care remains limited across Mexico, in 2008, Mexico City passed the Ley de Voluntad Anticipada, or Advance Directive Law. Today, Mexico City residents have the right to passive euthanasia – the right to refuse or withdraw life-sustaining treatment. They can also register their end-of-life wishes by filing advance directives at a hospital or public notary, and comprehensive palliative care services have been made available to the terminally ill for the first time through public health institutions.

"The objective of the study is to understand how everyday people – the terminally ill, their caretakers and the palliative care professionals – understand and strive to accomplish a dignified death," Singer said. "Also, to better understand the legal, bureaucratic, bioethical, economic and other obstacles that get in the way of that."

Singer hopes the findings from this study can provide insights for the clinicians, patients and caregivers that may enhance palliative care practices. For more information, please visit ou.edu/research.

About the Project 

The project, "Bioethical Frameworks Informing Medical Decision-Making around Palliative Care," is funded by the Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences of the National Science Foundation, Award no. 2319715

About the University of Oklahoma

Founded in 1890, the University of Oklahoma is a public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. As the state's flagship university, OU serves the educational, cultural, economic and health care needs of the state, region and nation. OU was named the state's highest-ranking university in U.S. News & World Report's most recent Best Colleges list. For more information about the university, visit www.ou.edu.

SOURCE University of Oklahoma