Social Security Scotland: research on communicating about terminal illness

Fiona Wright, from the user research team at Social Security Scotland, requests help from Edinburgh Advice Network members with experience advising terminally ill people on benefits, as they are looking for people to speak to as part of research on communicating about terminal illness.

Do you have experience of giving benefits advice to terminally ill people? If so, Social Security Scotland would like to hear from you.

Social Security Scotland is doing research about the language they use to communicate with clients and their supporters about applying for disability benefits under the Special Rules for Terminal Illness. As part of this research they are looking to speak with a range of practitioners working for third sector organisations who support people with a terminal illness who may be eligible for these benefits. This is so that they can learn from experts' experience of supporting people in these circumstances as part of their consideration of the language they use with clients and their supporters.

In these interviews, they will ask practitioners about their experience communicating with people with a terminal illness and their families, the language they use when doing so, their understanding of the most appropriate language to use with people in these circumstances, and any experience they might have supporting people in their communications with Social Security Scotland about their benefits. The findings from this research will be used to inform decisions about how Social Security Scotland communicates with people applying for or receiving benefits under the Special Rules for Terminal Illness in the future.

Social Security Scotland is looking to speak to 1 or 2 people from each different organisation that takes part.

Fiona Wright from Social Security Scotland will be conducting one to one interviews next week, 25th-28th August, either by phone or MS Teams video call. These interviews will last no more than 45 minutes and can be arranged to take place at an agreed convenient time. Fiona is looking to speak with experts/practitioners with direct experience of working with terminally ill people and their families.

If you or anyone in your team who meets this criteria would like to take part in this research, please email: userresearchrecruitment@socialsecurity.gov.scot

Fiona can then share further information and arrange a convenient time for the interview. If you have any questions or it would be helpful to have a call about this research before deciding whether to take part, please do let Fiona know and she would be happy to discuss further.