"My coma": collaborative autoethnography as a tool for re-contextualising coma experiences outside of the hospital

The proposed project fits directly with the Wellbeing, Health, and
Communities (WHC) pathway. It uses innovative conceptual and
methodological tools to explore the lived experience of coma. Coma
occupies an interstitial space between life and death. Although intubation
and other forms of life support have been brought to public attention
through the onset of the COVID pandemic, there has been limited
exploration of this condition from a sociological perspective. By focusing on
this life and death experience the proposed project will extend existing
debates in the social sciences on life threatening conditions thus
contributing to the core thematic focus of WHC. By focusing on the
experiences of coma beyond the hospital context, the study also offers an
original contribution to debates on formal and informal healthcare. The
project is also highly innovative methodologically and will contribute new
knowledge to the existing portfolio of activity across the pathway. The
research has significant potential to inform third sector organisation and
NHS service delivery around ICU, therefore fitting directly with the focus of
WHC on health intervention.