On dying and human suffering.

摘要

We greatly enjoyed Kellehear's article on dying and human suffering.1 The article was interesting and thought provoking. In particular, we would like to reflect on the discussion about future methodological considerations for research in this area. We would agree with the article that research using unobtrusive data collection such as diaries, photographs and literature is invaluable.We would further suggest another existing source of data that may be currently overlooked. With advances in modern technology, in particular interactive Web 2.0-based applications such as blogs (on-line diaries) and Internet forums, increasing numbers of patients and carers are using these tools to describe their experiences on the Internet.