Embracing ageing and mortality in times of longevity: utilising community-based approaches to ageing, end-of-life and death

Ageing and end-of life are indisputably linked; however, they have been described as ‘competing discourses’ working in parallel to address common challenges. By drawing on examples from the ‘age-friendly’ and ‘compassionate communities’ movements, this paper examines the role communities (whether geographical or communities of identity) can play in advancing the de-medicalisation of the ageing and end-of-life processes. This is important as the proportion of older people in all communities is rapidly growing, and to date both ageing and end-of-life have too often been treated as individualised medical ‘problems’, without sufficient attention to community-based support. Community-based approaches to ageing and end-of-life, such as befriending services or death cafes, could support the normalisation of these processes, reduce inequalities in healthy ageing, and potentially build towards a cultural shift that supports people to embrace ageing and their mortality. A critical perspective on ageing in place is used to explore the potential of a conceptual reframing of ageing and end-of-life as intertwined processes. In discussing communities, a spatial justice lens is adopted to provide a critical reflection of the places in which we live, age, and die. The paper concludes by discussing the overlapping challenges and opportunities in relation to supporting both ageing in place and end-of-life by through community-based approaches.