Poster 1: The wellbeing hub – reimagining wellbeing services

Background

The Wellbeing Hub reimagines and modernises hospice wellbeing content and the way in which it is delivered. The Wellbeing Hub has been developed in a partnership between Harlington Hospice and MyWishes. This was made possible following a successful grant application to the Masonic Charitable Foundation (managed by Hospice UK).

Aims

  • Reimagine and redesign wellbeing content, making it engaging and relevant to the local community in Hillingdon.
  • Improve feelings of general wellbeing and to better engage with the residents.
  • Integrate hospice wellbeing content alongside more generalised wellbeing content, creating a symbiotic bridge between mainstream wellbeing trends and hospice wellbeing services.

Methodology

Development of an online ‘Wellbeing Hub’. Content and outcomes were directed by service user and professional focus groups. Co-designing content took place with those being supported by the wellbeing team. Professional and service user feedback steering the direction.

Results

The Wellbeing Hub is available to all Hillingdon residents. New and engaging content for different hospice services is provided. Some content is now used in other environments (for example, the ‘whirlpool of grief’ animation is sent to those awaiting bereavement support).

Conclusion

Hillingdon residents have free access to a digital Wellbeing Hub. Integration into the local health and social care ecosystem empowers residents to take ownership of their future health, social care and wider wishes. Once received by PICS, Advance Care Plans can be used for triaging. Their Advance Care Plans can also be included as part of their medical record. Personal Wellbeing and Hospice Wellbeing services shouldn’t be envisaged and provided in two separate silos. The Wellbeing Hub was recently shortlisted for a Royal Society of Medicine ‘Palliative & Mental Health Award’.

Poster 2: Dying in today’s digital world, societal and healthcare perspectives in 2024

Background

The internet and communication devices are changing the ways in which society plans for death and remembers loved ones. The ‘Digital Death Survey’ has measured and reviewed attitudes and behaviours in areas relating to death and the internet since 2014.

Aims

This year’s dataset will be compared with previous historical, Digital Death Survey data. This will allow professionals to better understand changing attitudes and behaviours. Awareness and understanding might lead to organisational change, individual empowerment and better patient, family and community care.

Methods

International survey by the Digital Legacy Association (UK) and Siena College (USA). The survey has been ethically reviewed and approved by Siena College’s appointed Institutional Review Board guardian.

Results

Preliminary results published in November 2024 and first shown at Hospice UK’s Conference.

Conclusion

Insights and conclusions will be drawn from both the data and quantitative trends.

Poster 3 Outcomes from the digital legacy, design and technology network

Background

Design-focused research can potentially help patients and caregivers to manage their digital legacy (the digital information available about someone following their death). However, there is a lack of multi-disciplinary partnerships needed to conduct digital legacy research. Multidisciplinary partnerships involving design, digital and palliative care stakeholders can potentially support digital legacy research to improve care.

Aim

To develop a multidisciplinary network to improve the capacity to conduct digital legacy research. Methods This project was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), North West Coast Clinical Research Network. Project work included two face-to-face conferences. Stakeholders worked collaboratively across the following work-packages: (1) role of new technologies in digital legacy, (2) role of design in digital legacy, and (3) inequalities and inequity in digital legacy.

Results

The inaugural Digital Legacy, Design and Technology networking workshop (September 2023) involved presentations and workshops on the topic of digital legacy. Workshop data were collected from attendees to inform views, needs assessments and solutions. In the second event (March 2024) we further developed the network to consider how to best use the skills of the group to develop research grants and future work. The March meeting focused on practical digital legacy, using round table discussions to consider (1) how technologies can be used to create, curate and archive memories, (2) how to practically manage an individual’s digital estate and (3) how to open the conversation about digital across the generations.

Conclusion

The Digital Legacy Design and Technology network has successfully connected a diverse group of individuals and organisations. The Network is committed to working together, to undertake innovative research work, to identify how technologies can be best used to support the management of digital legacies of individuals and wider society.

Other news

digital legacy hospice uk hospice uk conference