Communication within families can be a critical concern for a person diagnosed with a life-limiting illness.
As the patient is faced with decisions about their care, family members are also faced with decisions about their supporting role during this emotional time. Access to information—or lack of access to information—can be a key factor in the ability to feel connected to a loved one, as they experience decline at end-of-life.

Added to the complexity of connection and decision- making at end-of-life is an increasingly aging demographic; a changing family structure, no longer defined by traditional roles and geographic proximity; and a Canadian society that is unable, or unwilling, to discuss death and dying.

A design research approach, supported by systems thinking and future shifts, is used to better understand the communication needs of family members at a distance during palliative care. The project also explores a complex problem, rooted in what it means to be human: to live life, and to accept the death of our loved ones and ourselves.