the Photovoice hero Image. This is a picture of several photos scattered on a table.

Through My Eyes: A Photovoice Study at End of Life

Are you living with a serious illness and approaching end of life? Would you be willing to share what matters most to you about this experience, through photographs?

Irish Hospice Foundation is conducting a photovoice project and invites adults living with a life limiting condition and approaching end of life to take photographs that show what life is like for you, and what matters most to you.

After you have had time to take and send in your photos, we will ask whether you would be interested and available to talk with a staff member in a one-to-one conversation about your images, to learn a little more about why these images are meaningful for you.

Who Can Take Part

To participate, you must be: 

  • Living with a life limiting condition and approaching end of life
  • Over 18 years old
  • Able to understand the study and give consent to take part

How to Take Part

If you are interested in this project and would like to find out more, we would love to hear from you. Please fill in the form below or contact us directly: 

FAQs

Why are we doing this research?

This study is being done to better understand the experiences of people who are nearing the end of life. Currently, research that includes the voice of individuals at end of life is very rare – these studies generally involve the participation of family members or carers instead. That means we are missing the voices and the views and experiences of those people who are going through the end-of-life journey. 

The study gives people who are at end of life a chance to share what matters most to them—through photos and conversations. This will help us learn what is important to people at end of life and identify how care and support could be improved.

If someone agrees to take part in this study, a researcher will meet with them and discuss what is involved in the project. Each participant will be asked to take photos (with a smartphone, camera or device of their choice) of objects, symbols, scenes, images etc., that have meaning for them at end of life. There are no rights or wrongs, participants can choose whatever they like to take photos of. Participants can take as many images as they like and will have a few weeks to send us their photos. 

Participants will then send their images to us and the researcher will follow up to agree a time to meet and discuss these photos and the meaning behind them. This will enable us to gain additional insight into the personal meaning and relevance of these photos while understanding further the story they tell. 

The photographs that participants submit will be used to create an exhibition that shows a candid, honest and first-hand view and experience of individuals at end of life in Ireland. We hope this will help highlight thoughts, feelings, issues and emotions that people experience at end of life.

The research team will need to know who the participant is and hold their contact details throughout the project so that we can receive the photographs and keep in touch throughout the time they are taking part in the study.

Outside of authorised members of the research team, no-one else will know who the photos or the quotes from the discussions belong to. We will not use real names or any identifying information when we publish the findings from the study, so all photographs and quotes will be anonymous.

Irish Hospice Foundation and Royal College of Surgeons Ireland (RCSI) are responsible for this research project. Partial funding is being supplied by the Hospital Saturday Fund (a registered charity).  

For Healthcare Professionals

Download this study flyer to help spread the word and offer the opportunity to the people you support. Thanks for your support!

If you would be interested in finding out more about how you can support the study, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

Phone: 1800 1800 18
Email: Sara Leitão, [email protected]