Phenomenological approaches to palliative care research

The recent debate about a suitable research paradigm palliative care¹ has highlighted the importance methodologies which are sensitive enough allow subjective experiences to be elicited with , whilst at the same time conforming to and principles of scientific rigour. One framework for addressing this issue lies the tradition of phenomenology, and this has attracted a good deal of interest, particularly those undertaking research in .² comes from two Greek words: , meaning ‘appearance’ and logos, denotes ‘reason’. Contemporary phenomenology around the problem of how we sense of the everyday world. It provides to tease out some of the concepts, , frameworks and structures of meaning which found in the day to day world of human interaction. has therefore been attractive some researchers of health care practice who in it the potential to illuminate otherwise takenfor- assumptions which can exist in the of giving and receiving care. Benner and ,³ for example, have applied the ideas to in an attempt to identify the elements in a ‘science of caring’. which make claims to a phenomenological are now appearing in palliative care. purpose here therefore is to outline very briefly fundamental principles of the phenomenological and to highlight some key issues which care researchers may wish to consider assessing the relevance of phenomenology to