Study: stock photos obscure death

stock photos convey a stereotypical idea of ​​death. Sadness, fear and pain are completely ignored, according to a new study. According to the researchers, this is problematic.

“The viewer needs to learn that the end of life is not bad,” said Gaudenz Metzger of the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK), according to a statement from the Swiss National Science Foundation Wednesday. The research was part of the SNSF research project ‘Death Settings’.

The researchers from the ZHdK and Bern University of the Arts (HKB) analyzed more than 600 photos in the Gettyimages, Shutterstock, Adobe Stock and iStock databases. The photos appeared under the keyword ‘palliative care’. According to the SNSF, these images are used by retirement homes and hospices, as well as in newspapers and online magazines.

The typical nurses are portrayed as empathetic people, while the patients appear as calm people who face death without fear, as the study shows. The people being cared for do not show that they are seriously ill and possibly suffering. The medical equipment and care materials required for the care are also missing in the rooms.

This one-sided representation generates ideas that could hardly be realized in the real world. The disappointment can lead to conflicts in palliative care, for example if the staff is not available or the room furnishings are less homely.

In addition, the study found that the stock photos represent the participants in a stereotypical way: the caregivers are often young, attractive and female. The sick people are old, white and well dressed. (sda)