Medicine, Technology, Society

Despite the growing institutionalisation of palliative care which seeks to prevent and relieve suffering at the end of life as patients become sicker, many patients are never offered the option of receiving care that focuses on pain prevention and relief. Instead, they are administered highly invasive, life-prolonging treatments up until the last moments of their lives. Against this backdrop, this project therefore asks: How is non-life prolonging treatment made possible in the clinical practices of medical specialties?

The project contributes to current debates in STS, sociology of health and illness, and the anthropology on care, values, the medical profession, emotions, and technologies.

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