Friday 6 March 1998
Dr David Field, an expert in the sociology of death and dying, has been appointed as Deputy Director of the Institute of Cancer Research's Centre For Cancer And Palliative Care Studies.
Formerly Professor of Sociology at the University of Ulster, Dr Field is a leading medical sociologist and brings a unique range of skills and experience to the post. He has researched and written widely on the care of the dying from a sociological perspective and has worked closely with nurses in carrying out this work
The centre carries out unique research aimed at improving the care of people with cancer and their families, as well as being the largest provider of training for cancer nurses in Europe
Professor Jessica Corner, Director of the Centre For Cancer and Palliative Care Studies says: "This is a radical and exciting appointment for the Institute of Cancer Research and for nursing as a whole. As a sociologist rather than a health professional, David will bring a new and more critical perspective to our work with people who are dying. Sociologists' research into the way the health care professions deal with death and dying has been very influential in building the kind of palliative care we have today. However, this has not been given the recognition it deserves. David's background in this type of work will be invaluable in achieving our aims of developing the field of palliative care still further."
David Field says: "Joining the Centre will give me a unique opportunity to work as part of a research community dedicated to palliative care. Nowhere else would I have such close day-to-day contact with nurses who are actively engaged in caring for the dying."
One area of Dr Field's work will involve applying research which has been carried out into palliative care for cancer patients to patients with other terminal illnesses.
He says: "The term 'palliative care' does not only apply to cancer, but it is perceived as being just for people who have cancer. Most palliative care is available for cancer patients rather than people with other terminal illnesses. This is partly because it is more difficult to define when the disease has become terminal, with chronic heart disease for example. However, these people have the same sort of pain, disabling symptoms and side effects as people with cancer and so need the same sort of care.
Dr Field is convenor of the Medical Sociology Study Group within the British Sociological Association, co-editor of the journal Mortality and was jointly m/f responsible for initiating the annual symposium on Social Aspects of Death, Dying and Bereavement, which began in 1991.
His books include 'Nursing The Dying' (1989), an introduction for nursing students which is still a key text, and 'Death, Gender And Ethnicity' (1997) which he co-edited. He has also co-edited a highly acclaimed introductory textbook for nursing students, 'Sociology Of Health And Healthcare', and 'Sociological Perspectives On Health And Illness', a collection of essays by leading experts which will be published in March.
Prior to his position at the University of Ulster, Dr Field was a Senior Lecturer in Medical Sociology at the University of Leicester. He has also taught at the University of Plymouth as well as at the University of Sydney and a number of institutions in the US including Brown and Princeton Universities.
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