Sellen, Kate, McGovern, Molly, MacGregor, Emma, Oikonen, Karen and Cheung, Maria (2020) Dying. Using a public event series as a research tool to open communication on death and dying. In: 6th International Conference on Design4Health Amsterdam 2020, 01-03 July 2020 [cancelled], Amsterdam, Netherlands.

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Abstract

This paper will explore the use of public engagement as a strategy for encouraging and enhancing conversations about end of life through the variety of events that were part of the Dying., a public event series that ran in the 2019 DesignTO festival. Dying. invited practitioners, researchers, artists, and designers to collaborate with the wider community to explore the topic of death and dying. The Dying. series attracted over 4,000 attendees in 2019, 14 speakers, and 12 exhibiting artists. These events included public engagement through interactive exhibit, a public art/design show, public lectures, participatory art installations, participatory design workshops, and evidence-based game playing. Dying. encouraged dialogue among community members and practitioners, initiating non-medical portrayals and expression of experiences associated with dying and death. Part, research tool for knowledge mobilisation, the interactive exhibits served to engage the public in sharing experiences of end of life in light weight and playful interactions, as well as more heavy weight interactions. Data gathering for research on health topics using participatory public exhibit was part of the research intention behind the design of the exhibits. Dying. opened an interdisciplinary dialogue between designers, medical practitioners, and the public, addressing a need among practitioners for more opportunities to share their work and learn from colleagues, and a need among the public for opportunities to hear and experience a more varied discourse about death (knowledge mobilization). Dying. creatively offered the public multiple ways to engage with the topic of end of life also supplying supporting resources on advanced care planning and other aspects of end of life decision making.

Item Type:	Conference/Workshop Item (Paper)
Uncontrolled Keywords:	interaction design, end of life, participatory research, design approaches
Divisions:	Faculty of Design
Date Deposited:	19 Oct 2020 15:00
Last Modified:	20 Dec 2021 19:02
URI:	https://openresearch.ocadu.ca/id/eprint/3134

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