The results from two surveys in England of relatives and others who knew people in samples drawn from death certificates are reported. The main focus is on a sample of 3696 people dying in 1990 in 20 health authorities, with supporting analysis from an earlier national sample of 639 people dying...

The literature suggests that doctors' and nurses' openness about communicating with the terminally ill and their families has increased in the past two or three decades, partly influenced by the hospice movement. The present study reports the perceptions of relatives, hospital doctors, general...

This paper reviews changing patterns of mortality worldwide, paying particular attention to differences between developed and developing countries and the consequences of demographic and epidemiological transitions. These involve gains in life expectancy and a shift from infectious to...

A new method, comparative keyword analysis, is used to compare the language of men and women with cancer in 97 research interviews and two popular internet based support groups for people with cancer. The method is suited to the conjoint qualitative and quantitative analysis of differences...

The issue of whether it is right to be concerned about the accuracy with which mass media report social scientific research is explored through a detailed case study of media reporting of two surveys of UK doctors' end-of-life decision-making. Data include press releases, emails and field notes...