Lecture Series

In cooperation with the Hospice Association of Styria and the Age and Care Research Group Graz

Course by: Adelheid Brantner and Ulla Kriebernegg

The continuously increasing age of people often leads to the occurrence of serious diseases in the last phase of life such as cancer, dementia and other neurological diseases. The modern hospice movement takes care of the dying, their relatives and the bereaved. The focus of hospice work is on the sick people and their relatives with their physical, social, mental and spiritual needs. In this lecture series, dealing with people in their last phase of life and in their environment is to be conveyed and viewed from different perspectives. This complex topic is illuminated by lectures from different disciplines such as medicine, pharmacy, psychology, law, literature and ethics. Hospices are “places” of hospitality where strangers, the dying, are met. This hospitality is presented as a viable perspective of a multicultural society. Furthermore, different forms of "euthanasia" are compared from an ethical and legal perspective. The socio-political challenges of a changing “death culture” are highlighted. Another topic of the lecture deals with psychosocial aspects of anxiety in various diseases and their management. Another lecture focuses on the experiences of a specialist in medical geriatrics with seriously ill patients and their relatives who are in an emotional state of emergency. In this context, palliative care and hospice facilities as well as contact points and their range of services are presented.