Dying worlds in Austria: perspectives on “good dying“ (Sterbewelten)

Principal Investigator: Erich Griessler
Project Team: Elisabeth Frankus, Alexander Lang, Florian Winkler, Julia Schmid
Project Duration: 2017–2018
Funding: Oesterreichische Nationalbank (OeNB), Anniversary Fund of the National Bank of Austria, project no 17075

Project Information: The project “Sterbewelten in Österreich” (“Dying worlds in Austria: perspectives on 'good dying'’”) aims to explore the perceptions on the process of dying of those affected, relatives, close people as well as other persons involved (especially caregivers).

It does not prescribe a definition of “good dying”, but deals with questions such as:
What does “good dying” mean?
How is the process of dying co-determined by societal and institutional circumstances (arrangements of care, social networks, etc.)?
How and under what conditions is “good dying” possible?

The project will also describe recent Austrian debates on “good dying” and analyse the requirements of “good dying” within. The project employs an approach of dispositif analysis, which focuses on the relationship between different types of public discourses (media, politics, economy, etc.) and everyday talk, practices, and knowledge. Its results will be communicated and discussed with different societal groups and stakeholders. They will not only be used to identify further relevant research questions, but also to promote discussion on necessary transformations regarding regimes and systems of end-of-life care.

The project is coordinated by the Institute for Palliative Care and Organisational Ethics (IFF Vienna), Alpen Adria University (Prof. Dr. Katharina Heimerl). Other partners involved are the Institute for Advanced Studies, Vienna (IHS), the Institute for Ethics and Law in Medicine (IERM), University of Vienna, and the Institute for Practical Philosophy/Ethics, Catholic-Theological Private University Linz.