Theorising end of life care

We provide a selective overview of the social science contribution to theorising end of life care from the mid-20th century to the present. The chapter is structured by macro, meso, and micro levels of analysis. This allows us to scope the theorising of broad societal trends, institutional contexts, and the processes and experiences that have shaped and are shaped by Western attitudes to end of life care. We conclude by pointing to some of the emerging theoretical lenses, including the established concepts of the field of palliative care such as ‘total pain’ and ‘total care’, but not least those that draw on theories of post-colonialism, equity, and disadvantage.