Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38914458›Full record

ArticleMedical humanities2025

The Cost of Dying Exhibition: public, professional and political reactions to a visual exhibition depicting experiences of poverty at the end of life.

Sam Quinn, Naomi Richards

Erratum issuedAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Medical humanities, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors.

Sam QuinnUniversity of Glasgow, End of Life Studies Group Rutherford/McCowan Building, Crichton University Campus, University of Glasgow, Dumfries, UK Sam.Quinn@Glasgow.ac.uk.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6266-0819
Naomi RichardsUniversity of Glasgow, End of Life Studies Group Rutherford/McCowan Building, Crichton University Campus, University of Glasgow, Dumfries, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3029-5132

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

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 awareness and influencing public health discourse. The UK-based Cost of Dying exhibition (April-August 2023) presented real examples of how financial hardship and deprivation intersect with end of life experience through professional portraits, photovoice imagery taken by individuals at the end of their lives, and digital stories co-produced with bereaved relatives. Three iterations of the exhibition were displayed at public venues and a health conference. Evaluation methods comprised anonymous feedback cards (n=208), panel discussions and social media reactions. Thematic analysis was used to identify themes within the feedback. The emotional resonance of the exhibition was a key theme, with attendees expressing sadness, anger, empathy and hope. Visitors found the exhibition thought-provoking and expressed that it countered existing stereotypes about what it means to experience financial hardship at the end of life. The exhibition spurred calls for change, with some attendees questioning in what capacity they could help. Individuals with expertise in end of life care reported that the imagery validated their professional experiences. In conclusion, the Cost of Dying exhibition made visible the struggles endured by individuals confronting financial hardship and material deprivation at the end of life. Such exhibitions can challenge the traditional view of dying as a swift process taking place sequestered in institutions, revealing that it often unfolds over time and individuals may continue to live at home in the community, struggling with unmet needs and unresponsive state services.

Indexed as

Attitude to DeathPalliative CarePoliticsPovertyTerminal CareFemaleHumansMalePublic HealthUnited KingdomEnd of life careexhibitionspalliative carePublic healthsociology

Identifiers

PMID38914458
PMCPMC12171512

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.