Information
The western-European concept of hospice care refers to both the living and care context of people with life-ending diagnoses – creating a unique (health) care setting: Guests are cared for on different levels, emotionally, psychologically, spiritually, and palliatively. Care is not only provided by nursing staff but also by relatives and ultimately the guests themselves. What are the different actors’ needs and requirements?
This project will focus on a hospice that is currently in the planning phase in the city of Bern. We will investigate the needs and requirements for from three perspectives: experts by experience (caregiving relatives and people in need of hospice care), specialist researchers (Nursing, Palliative Medicine, Ethics) and in-field experts (Hospital and Hospice Nursing).
In this exploratory qualitative case study, we will conduct a narrative literature review on needs and requirements of Hospice guests globally and specific to the Swiss context of hospice institutions. We will conduct several semi structured in-depth interviews with stakeholders such as a) experts by experience (caregiving relatives and people in need of hospice care), b) in-field experts (Hospital and Hospice Nursing) and c) specialist scientists (Nursing, Palliative Medicine, Ethics).
This study will map different stakeholders’ perspectives . In doing so, we will show the needs and requirements of people involved or affected by the project for a hospice in the city of Bern. We will make visible potential fruitful alignments as well as divergence between stakeholders in this context.
Our Research Team
I am interested in understanding, explaining, and promoting health, equity, and well-being. Within the research group, we focus on three research areas: (1) prevention and health promotion, with a particular focus on physical activity promotion, (2) community health, and (3) healthy settings.
I am also dedicated to supporting students in developing their skills in critical thinking and asking why about health, disease, and illness. I do this by teaching courses on health promotion and Qualitative health research in different programs: the Public Health Sciences Course program for PhD students at UniBe, the inter-university MPH program, and the medical degree program.
My background is in social science: I studied political science and North American studies at FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg/Germany and at McGill University Montréal in Canada. With work on the capability approach as a paradigm for physical activity-related health promotion, I received my habilitation at the University of Tübingen in 2021. Prior to my current position, I was a postdoctoral fellow at the Univ. of Tübingen (2018-2021) and the FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg (2013-2018).
Out of the office, I try to spend the maximum time outside — Aare swimming and strolling; backcountry canoeing, tenting, and hiking with my family; as well as running for charity and talking time with the best squad.
I was born and raised in Bern where I also completed my BA in History and MA in Religion in Contemporary Society. Since May 2021 I am a PhD candidate at the Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine ISPM at the University of Bern. My research topic are researcher-decision-maker-interactions during public health emergencies. I am particularly interested in the science-policy interface, and how research is translated and implemented in practice. On a more superordinate level, I contemplate about how science is perceived by different actors in this context, and what its “purpose” might be on a societal level.
My parents grew up in Vietnam whereas I was born and raised in Bern. I completed my BA in Social Anthropology and Sustainable Development at the University of Bern and currently, I’m studying for a master’s degree in Health Sciences at the University of Lucerne. Since February 2023 I am a research assistant at the Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine ISPM at the University of Bern. I mainly contribute to the project “The pandemic society in Switzerland: Polarization and public health”. I am particularly interested in health behaviour and its determinants on a socioeconomic level, in efficient collaborations between different health providers (shared decision-making) and in health from a cultural point of view. For example, palliative care, as may be understood based on cultural beliefs about the meaning of cure, disease and death.
I work as an assistant for this research group at the Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine (ISPM). I’m studying Psychology at the University of Berne. I’d consider myself a generally curious person and I am still figuring out where my main interests lie – probably somewhere between Psychology, Neuroscience and Philosophy. In my leisure time, I recharge my batteries by getting exercise in nature (be it running, cycling, hiking, skiing, …), spending time with good people, being creative and volunteering for the exchange organization I spent a year in Argentina with.
