Naomi Richards
Biographic Data
| ID | 123728 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Naomi Richards |
| GIVEN NAMES | Naomi |
| FAMILY NAME | Richards |
| SIGNATURE | RICHARDS N |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Glasgow |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-5673-751X |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 21 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 70 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 21 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1976 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 5 |
Visually representing total pain at the end of life through photovoice
Introduction The concept of ‘total pain’ was conceived and utilised by Cicely Saunders, pioneer of the modern hospice movement, in the mid-1960s to highlight to doctors the multidimensional – physical, social, emotional, and spiritual – nature of suffering experienced specifically at the end of life. Photovoice is a participatory visual research method which places cameras in the hands of research participants to document aspects of their own liv…
Navigating the Rise of Artificial Intelligence and Imposter Participants in Qualitative Health Research
Artificial intelligence enables people to create convincing online identities and narratives, which poses a growing threat to qualitative health research conducted online. We report on a UK-wide interview study on financial insecurity and serious illness that, during open recruitment across three university sites, received hundreds of false expressions of interest generated or assisted by large language models. Suspected false expressions of inte…
An ethnographic study of diagnosis of physical illness in people with mental health conditions in the emergency department
People living with mental health conditions face reduced life expectancy, largely associated with under-diagnosed and under-treated physical illnesses. Inequalities in the way physical symptoms are diagnosed may be implicated in these outcomes, but, to date, studies have primarily understood these inequalities in terms of 'diagnostic overshadowing': the misattribution of physical symptoms to mental health conditions. In this paper, we use the can…
Dying in the margins
Home dying is a policy indicator of ‘quality dying’ in many high-income countries, but there is evidence that people living in areas of higher deprivation have a reduced likelihood of dying at home. However, there is limited research which centres the views and experiences of people living with both socioeconomic deprivation and serious advanced illness. We deployed visual methods to address this gap in knowledge, focusing on barriers to, and exp…
The Cost of Dying Exhibition
Public health approaches to palliative care are internationally endorsed for their potential to improve the social determinants of dying such as energy costs, transport and housing. Enhancing public understanding of inequities in end of life experiences, which exist even in economically advanced countries, is vital if the value of public health approaches are to be endorsed and invested in. Visual exhibitions have a strong tradition of raising aw…
Measuring engagement with shark research in science, news and social media, and policy
Death Café, Bauman and striving for human connection in ‘liquid times’
The death-positive movement, the latest enactment of the death awareness movement, posits that contemporary societies are suffering under a ‘death taboo’ and that people should talk more about death. In this article, we analyse an international social franchise aligned with this movement – Death Café – whereby strangers gather in a café setting to talk informally about death and dying. Drawing on interviews conducted with 49 Death Café organisers…
The equity turn in palliative and end of life care research
Palliative and end of life care researchers are being issued ‘wake up’ calls that they need to start adopting an equity framework and pay more attention to how the social determinants of health impact people at the end of their lives. Acknowledging systemic health inequities has become even more important during the COVID‐19 pandemic. I argue that within this new equity‐driven agenda, learning needs to be incorporated from decades of work within …
Qualitative study of candidacy and access to secondary mental health services during the Covid-19 pandemic
Candidacy, a construct describing how people's eligibility for care is negotiated between themselves and services, has received limited attention in the context of mental health care. In addition, candidacy research has only rarely studied the views of carers and health professionals. In this article, we use concepts relating to candidacy to enable a theoretically informed examination of experiences of access to secondary mental health services d…
Medicalisation, suffering and control at the end of life
Medicalisation is a pervasive feature of contemporary end of life and dying in Western Europe and North America. In this article, we focus on the relationship between two specific aspects of the medicalisation of dying: deep continuous palliative sedation until death and assisted dying. We draw upon a qualitative interview study with 29 health professionals from three jurisdictions where assisted dying is lawful: Flanders, Belgium; Oregon, USA; a…
Classic Anthropological Theories to Help Understand Caregiving and Dying during the Covid-19 Pandemic
the COVID-19 global pandemic engendered a new social order, the ultimate shape and permanence of which is still unknown.What is known is that in the short term, experiences of caregiving and dying were profoundly reshaped in reaction to this new contagious threat and the effects of that reshaping are still being felt.though these changes have been unprecedented, foundational anthropology theories continue to have relevance and can aid understandi…
A critical rejoinder to “Life’s End
The Global Spread of Death Café
New demographic and epidemiological trends mean people are dying at older ages and over long periods of time, from multiple, chronic illnesses. There is a perception that these growing and changing needs will require novel community responses. One starting point is having ‘conversations’ about dying and death, and in this the phenomenon of ‘Death Café’ merits attention. In the first study of its kind, we report on interviews with forty-nine Death…
What is the cultural value of dying in an era of assisted dying
Assisted dying is now a lawful and integral component of many societies 'death system', orienting individual and collective encounters with death and dying. While only a very small number of people living with terminal illness in these societies will opt for an assisted death, the choice, nevertheless, exists for those who satisfy the legal criteria. Theoretically, in these jurisdictions, this turns dying into an optional part of the human life c…
A moment for compassion
Compassion is an emotional response to the suffering of others. Once felt, it entails subsequent action to ameliorate their suffering. Recently, ‘compassion’ has become the flagship concept to be fostered in the delivery of end-of-life care, and a rallying call for social action and public health intervention. In this paper, we examine the emerging rhetorics of compassion as they relate to end-of-life care and offer a critique of the expanding di…
Old age rational suicide
In the societal debate surrounding voluntary euthanasia or physician‐assisted suicide, there is a concern that older people will be left exposed to any legislation, subject to either faint suggestion or outright coercion from familial or professional carers. Whilst it is critical to take account of older people's potential vulnerability to any current or proposed assisted suicide legislation, there is a parallel strand of research exploring anoth…
"Assisted Suicide as a Remedy for Suffering? The End-of-Life Preferences of British "Suicide Tourists
The highly charged debate about the moral status of assisted suicide features regularly in the news media in medically advanced countries. In the United Kingdom, the debate has been dominated in recent years by a new mode of death: assisted suicide in Switzerland, so-called suicide tourism. Drawing on in-depth interviews with people who were actively planning on 'going to Switzerland,' alongside participant-observation at a do-it-yourself self-de…
The death of the right‐to‐die campaigners (Respond to this article at http
The ‘right‐to‐die’ or assisted suicide debate in the UK has recently been dominated by high‐profile litigation which has brought to public attention stories of individual suffering. The most recent case is that of Tony Nicklinson who, as a result of his permanent and total paralysis which he said made his life ‘intolerable’, wanted the courts to allow a doctor to end his life. Only six days after a Judicial Review refused his request, Tony died o…
Desperately Seeking Certainty? The Case of Asylum Applicants and People Planning an Assisted Suicide in Switzerland
Uncertainty is often deemed to be a quintessential fact of life. The social scientific literature often references a generalised or 'global' uncertainty, akin to a worldview. Far fewer studies, however, discuss the specific effects of 'event' focused uncertainty: how it is managed by groups and individuals, or how this type of uncertainty relates to the concepts of risk, trust, hope and time. This article seeks to identify and analyse key aspects…
The challenge of creating ‘alternative’ images of ageing
Some Educational Themes in the Works of Vladimir Tendryakov
It has long been known that sometimes additional, and often more revealing, information about some aspects of the Soviet scene can be gleaned from Soviet belles-lettres than from official documentation or guided visits. While this is particularly true of collective farm life, it may be somewhat less so of education. Nevertheless it is in the hope that this approach may be of some use to educationists that these lines are written. Vladimir Tendrya…
The challenge of creating ‘alternative’ images of ageing
Qualitative study of candidacy and access to secondary mental health services during the Covid-19 pandemic
Candidacy, a construct describing how people's eligibility for care is negotiated between themselves and services, has received limited attention in the context of mental health care. In addition, candidacy research has only rarely studied the views of carers and health professionals. In this article, we use concepts relating to candidacy to enable a theoretically informed examination of experiences of access to secondary mental health services d…
The equity turn in palliative and end of life care research
Palliative and end of life care researchers are being issued ‘wake up’ calls that they need to start adopting an equity framework and pay more attention to how the social determinants of health impact people at the end of their lives. Acknowledging systemic health inequities has become even more important during the COVID‐19 pandemic. I argue that within this new equity‐driven agenda, learning needs to be incorporated from decades of work within …
"Assisted Suicide as a Remedy for Suffering? The End-of-Life Preferences of British "Suicide Tourists
The highly charged debate about the moral status of assisted suicide features regularly in the news media in medically advanced countries. In the United Kingdom, the debate has been dominated in recent years by a new mode of death: assisted suicide in Switzerland, so-called suicide tourism. Drawing on in-depth interviews with people who were actively planning on 'going to Switzerland,' alongside participant-observation at a do-it-yourself self-de…
Old age rational suicide
In the societal debate surrounding voluntary euthanasia or physician‐assisted suicide, there is a concern that older people will be left exposed to any legislation, subject to either faint suggestion or outright coercion from familial or professional carers. Whilst it is critical to take account of older people's potential vulnerability to any current or proposed assisted suicide legislation, there is a parallel strand of research exploring anoth…
What is the cultural value of dying in an era of assisted dying
Assisted dying is now a lawful and integral component of many societies 'death system', orienting individual and collective encounters with death and dying. While only a very small number of people living with terminal illness in these societies will opt for an assisted death, the choice, nevertheless, exists for those who satisfy the legal criteria. Theoretically, in these jurisdictions, this turns dying into an optional part of the human life c…
Medicalisation, suffering and control at the end of life
Medicalisation is a pervasive feature of contemporary end of life and dying in Western Europe and North America. In this article, we focus on the relationship between two specific aspects of the medicalisation of dying: deep continuous palliative sedation until death and assisted dying. We draw upon a qualitative interview study with 29 health professionals from three jurisdictions where assisted dying is lawful: Flanders, Belgium; Oregon, USA; a…
The Global Spread of Death Café
New demographic and epidemiological trends mean people are dying at older ages and over long periods of time, from multiple, chronic illnesses. There is a perception that these growing and changing needs will require novel community responses. One starting point is having ‘conversations’ about dying and death, and in this the phenomenon of ‘Death Café’ merits attention. In the first study of its kind, we report on interviews with forty-nine Death…
Desperately Seeking Certainty? The Case of Asylum Applicants and People Planning an Assisted Suicide in Switzerland
Uncertainty is often deemed to be a quintessential fact of life. The social scientific literature often references a generalised or 'global' uncertainty, akin to a worldview. Far fewer studies, however, discuss the specific effects of 'event' focused uncertainty: how it is managed by groups and individuals, or how this type of uncertainty relates to the concepts of risk, trust, hope and time. This article seeks to identify and analyse key aspects…
A moment for compassion
Compassion is an emotional response to the suffering of others. Once felt, it entails subsequent action to ameliorate their suffering. Recently, ‘compassion’ has become the flagship concept to be fostered in the delivery of end-of-life care, and a rallying call for social action and public health intervention. In this paper, we examine the emerging rhetorics of compassion as they relate to end-of-life care and offer a critique of the expanding di…
Some Educational Themes in the Works of Vladimir Tendryakov
It has long been known that sometimes additional, and often more revealing, information about some aspects of the Soviet scene can be gleaned from Soviet belles-lettres than from official documentation or guided visits. While this is particularly true of collective farm life, it may be somewhat less so of education. Nevertheless it is in the hope that this approach may be of some use to educationists that these lines are written. Vladimir Tendrya…
The challenge of creating ‘alternative’ images of ageing
Desperately Seeking Certainty? The Case of Asylum Applicants and People Planning an Assisted Suicide in Switzerland
Uncertainty is often deemed to be a quintessential fact of life. The social scientific literature often references a generalised or 'global' uncertainty, akin to a worldview. Far fewer studies, however, discuss the specific effects of 'event' focused uncertainty: how it is managed by groups and individuals, or how this type of uncertainty relates to the concepts of risk, trust, hope and time. This article seeks to identify and analyse key aspects…
The death of the right‐to‐die campaigners (Respond to this article at http
The ‘right‐to‐die’ or assisted suicide debate in the UK has recently been dominated by high‐profile litigation which has brought to public attention stories of individual suffering. The most recent case is that of Tony Nicklinson who, as a result of his permanent and total paralysis which he said made his life ‘intolerable’, wanted the courts to allow a doctor to end his life. Only six days after a Judicial Review refused his request, Tony died o…
Old age rational suicide
In the societal debate surrounding voluntary euthanasia or physician‐assisted suicide, there is a concern that older people will be left exposed to any legislation, subject to either faint suggestion or outright coercion from familial or professional carers. Whilst it is critical to take account of older people's potential vulnerability to any current or proposed assisted suicide legislation, there is a parallel strand of research exploring anoth…
"Assisted Suicide as a Remedy for Suffering? The End-of-Life Preferences of British "Suicide Tourists
The highly charged debate about the moral status of assisted suicide features regularly in the news media in medically advanced countries. In the United Kingdom, the debate has been dominated in recent years by a new mode of death: assisted suicide in Switzerland, so-called suicide tourism. Drawing on in-depth interviews with people who were actively planning on 'going to Switzerland,' alongside participant-observation at a do-it-yourself self-de…
A moment for compassion
Compassion is an emotional response to the suffering of others. Once felt, it entails subsequent action to ameliorate their suffering. Recently, ‘compassion’ has become the flagship concept to be fostered in the delivery of end-of-life care, and a rallying call for social action and public health intervention. In this paper, we examine the emerging rhetorics of compassion as they relate to end-of-life care and offer a critique of the expanding di…
What is the cultural value of dying in an era of assisted dying
Assisted dying is now a lawful and integral component of many societies 'death system', orienting individual and collective encounters with death and dying. While only a very small number of people living with terminal illness in these societies will opt for an assisted death, the choice, nevertheless, exists for those who satisfy the legal criteria. Theoretically, in these jurisdictions, this turns dying into an optional part of the human life c…
The Global Spread of Death Café
New demographic and epidemiological trends mean people are dying at older ages and over long periods of time, from multiple, chronic illnesses. There is a perception that these growing and changing needs will require novel community responses. One starting point is having ‘conversations’ about dying and death, and in this the phenomenon of ‘Death Café’ merits attention. In the first study of its kind, we report on interviews with forty-nine Death…
A critical rejoinder to “Life’s End
The equity turn in palliative and end of life care research
Palliative and end of life care researchers are being issued ‘wake up’ calls that they need to start adopting an equity framework and pay more attention to how the social determinants of health impact people at the end of their lives. Acknowledging systemic health inequities has become even more important during the COVID‐19 pandemic. I argue that within this new equity‐driven agenda, learning needs to be incorporated from decades of work within …
Qualitative study of candidacy and access to secondary mental health services during the Covid-19 pandemic
Candidacy, a construct describing how people's eligibility for care is negotiated between themselves and services, has received limited attention in the context of mental health care. In addition, candidacy research has only rarely studied the views of carers and health professionals. In this article, we use concepts relating to candidacy to enable a theoretically informed examination of experiences of access to secondary mental health services d…
Medicalisation, suffering and control at the end of life
Medicalisation is a pervasive feature of contemporary end of life and dying in Western Europe and North America. In this article, we focus on the relationship between two specific aspects of the medicalisation of dying: deep continuous palliative sedation until death and assisted dying. We draw upon a qualitative interview study with 29 health professionals from three jurisdictions where assisted dying is lawful: Flanders, Belgium; Oregon, USA; a…
Classic Anthropological Theories to Help Understand Caregiving and Dying during the Covid-19 Pandemic
the COVID-19 global pandemic engendered a new social order, the ultimate shape and permanence of which is still unknown.What is known is that in the short term, experiences of caregiving and dying were profoundly reshaped in reaction to this new contagious threat and the effects of that reshaping are still being felt.though these changes have been unprecedented, foundational anthropology theories continue to have relevance and can aid understandi…
Measuring engagement with shark research in science, news and social media, and policy
Death Café, Bauman and striving for human connection in ‘liquid times’
The death-positive movement, the latest enactment of the death awareness movement, posits that contemporary societies are suffering under a ‘death taboo’ and that people should talk more about death. In this article, we analyse an international social franchise aligned with this movement – Death Café – whereby strangers gather in a café setting to talk informally about death and dying. Drawing on interviews conducted with 49 Death Café organisers…
Dying in the margins
Home dying is a policy indicator of ‘quality dying’ in many high-income countries, but there is evidence that people living in areas of higher deprivation have a reduced likelihood of dying at home. However, there is limited research which centres the views and experiences of people living with both socioeconomic deprivation and serious advanced illness. We deployed visual methods to address this gap in knowledge, focusing on barriers to, and exp…
The Cost of Dying Exhibition
Public health approaches to palliative care are internationally endorsed for their potential to improve the social determinants of dying such as energy costs, transport and housing. Enhancing public understanding of inequities in end of life experiences, which exist even in economically advanced countries, is vital if the value of public health approaches are to be endorsed and invested in. Visual exhibitions have a strong tradition of raising aw…
Visually representing total pain at the end of life through photovoice
Introduction The concept of ‘total pain’ was conceived and utilised by Cicely Saunders, pioneer of the modern hospice movement, in the mid-1960s to highlight to doctors the multidimensional – physical, social, emotional, and spiritual – nature of suffering experienced specifically at the end of life. Photovoice is a participatory visual research method which places cameras in the hands of research participants to document aspects of their own liv…
Navigating the Rise of Artificial Intelligence and Imposter Participants in Qualitative Health Research
Artificial intelligence enables people to create convincing online identities and narratives, which poses a growing threat to qualitative health research conducted online. We report on a UK-wide interview study on financial insecurity and serious illness that, during open recruitment across three university sites, received hundreds of false expressions of interest generated or assisted by large language models. Suspected false expressions of inte…
An ethnographic study of diagnosis of physical illness in people with mental health conditions in the emergency department
People living with mental health conditions face reduced life expectancy, largely associated with under-diagnosed and under-treated physical illnesses. Inequalities in the way physical symptoms are diagnosed may be implicated in these outcomes, but, to date, studies have primarily understood these inequalities in terms of 'diagnostic overshadowing': the misattribution of physical symptoms to mental health conditions. In this paper, we use the can…
Sociology (17 works) · Political science (16 works) · Psychology (13 works) · Law (11 works) · Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health (10 works) · Law (10 works) · Medicine (10 works) · Palliative Care and End-of-Life Issues (8 works) · Qualitative research (6 works) · Social Psychology (6 works)