Thesis directory

The French National Platform for End-of-Life Research lists thesis work relating to this field. The latest count is 101 theses in progress and 89 theses defended since 2019.

Theses in progress

106 thesis(es)

Discipline

Title keywords

Research topic

Thesis title	PhD candidate	Discipline(s)	Research topic(s)	Supervisor	Institution
Contribution to the analysis of real-world and longitudinal data in anesthesia, critical care, and hematology	Mary SAAD-BOUTRY	Public Health	Predictive markers of death / Prognostic factors	Aurélien LATOUCHE	Institut Curie Cancer et génome : bioinformatique, biostatistiques et épidémiologie
Protestant Cemeteries and Funeral Practices in France in the Modern Era	Amandine DUBOIS	History	Funeral practices / Post-mortem care	Philippe CHAREYRE, Florent HAUTEFEUILLE	Université de Pau Identités, Territoires, Expressions, Mobilités
Funeral rites in Haitian Voodoo: between cultural practices and transnational dynamics	Wisner BAGUIDY	Anthropology	Funeral practices / Post-mortem care, Social and cultural representations	Stefania CAPONE	École des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) Centre d’études en sciences sociales du religieux
Individual Life Paths Following the Death of a Spouse in France	Margaux TOCQUEVILLE	Demography	Grief / Bereavement	Nathalie LE BOUTEILLEC, Laurent TOULEMON	Université de Picardie Centre Universitaire de Recherches sur l'Action Publique et le Politique - Epistémologie et Sciences Sociales
Andersian Thanatopolitics: The Heuristics of Death in Günther Anders and Some of His Contemporaries	Michael GARABELLO	Philosophy	Funeral practices / Post-mortem care	Bruce BEGOUT	Université Bordeaux-Montaigne Sciences, Philosophie, Humanités
Death and mourning in the works of Edwidge Danticat: various fictional representations and their meanings. The role of writing in confronting death and the grieving process.	Faaizah AKHOONE	Literature	Grief / Bereavement	Corinne DUBOIN	Université de la Réunion Déplacements, Identités, Regards, Ecritures
The freedom to choose one's medical treatment	Brigitte COUSTON	Law	Law and Legislation, Autonomy for people at the End-of-Life, Decision-making processes	Katarzyna BLAY-GRABARCZYK	Université de Montpellier Institut de Droit Européen des Droits de l'Homme
The Meaning and Value of Care in End-of-Life Support Related to Organ Donation: A Practical Philosophical Approach	Sara MARTOUZET	Philosophy	Organ donation and removal, Patient support	Emmanuel RUSCH, Thomas BOYER-KASSEM	Université de Tours Education, Ethique, Santé
Finitude and Sublimation: AI at the End of Life	Judith DESCHAMPS	Literature	Social and cultural representations	Arnaud REGNAULD, Laurence DEVILLERS	Université Paris 8 Transferts Critiques anglophones
In the face of loss and grief, what psychological coping mechanisms are possible in Alzheimer's disease?	Natividad ALARCON LUJAN	Psychology	Grief / Bereavement, Experiences and perceptions	Rosa CARON, Elsa GODART	Université de Paris Centre de Recherches Psychanalyse, Médecine et Société
Euthanasia and Human Dignity	Maelle ANYA	Law	Death wish / Euthanasia / Assisted suicide, Law and Legislation	Gérard TEBOUL	Université Paris Est Marchés, institutions, libertés
Study on the Reform of End-of-Life Law and Its Legal, Societal, Ethical, and Practical Implications	Célia BLONDEL	Law	Law and Legislation	Bérengère LEGROS	Université de Lille Centre de Recherche Droits et Perspectives du droit
Ceremonies at the Funeral Center of Strasbourg’s North Cemetery: Indistinctiveness of Venues, Personalization, and Variations in Ceremony	Jean-Christophe COLINET	Anthropology	Funeral practices / Post-mortem care	Pascal HINTERMEYER	Université de Strasbourg Dynamiques Européennes
Technoscientific Immortality: Toward an Anthropological and Ethical Evolution of Our Relationship with Death	Izem DAHMANI	Philosophy	Social and cultural representations, Philosophy of death	Christophe SALVAT	Aix-Marseille Université Centre Gilles Gaston Granger
End of Life and the Individual's Wishes	Nathalie DEFREL-BARALE	Law	Law and Legislation, Autonomy for people at the End-of-Life	Marion GIRER	Université Lyon 3 Jean Moulin Groupe de Recherche Appliquée Pluridisciplinaire sur l'Hôpital et les Organisations de Santé
Cleaning Up the Traces of Death: A Study of Death Norms Through Their Margins in France and Switzerland	Elodie FORNEZZO	Sociology	Funeral practices / Post-mortem care	Ingrid VOLERY	Université de Lorraine Laboratoire de Sociologie des Territoires, du Travail, des Âges et de la Santé
The Pathways of Complaint: A Sociological Approach to Pain	Laurie-Anne GALIBY	Sociology	Social and cultural representations, Pain management	Pierre DEMEULENAERE	Sorbonne Université Initiative Humanités Biomédicales
Psychological development in cancer patients in palliative care	Audrey GAVARD	Psychology	Experiences and perceptions	Marie-Christine PHEULPIN	Université Sorbonne Paris Nord Unité Transversale de Recherche Psychogenèse et Psychopathologie
Near-Death Experiences (NDEs) and Their Educational Impact in the Context of Lifelong Learning	Pascale MAETSU (MATHIEU)	Education	Experiences and perceptions	Francis LESOURD, Jean-Pierre JOURDAN	Université Paris 8 Centre de Recherche Interuniversitaire Expérience Ressources Culturelles Éducation
Talking improves the quality of life for the dying	Jennifer MERTZ	Psychology	Experiences and perceptions, Communication	Marie-Frédérique BACQUÉ	Université de Strasbourg Subjectivité, lien social et modernité

Theses defended since 2019

91 thesis(es)

Discipline

Title keywords

Research topic

Thesis title	Year	PhD candidate	Discipline(s)	Research topic(s)	Supervisor	Institution / Laboratory
Ordinary Deaths, Ordinary Dead: The Treatment and Fate of Bodies in Cemeteries, as Illustrated by the Case of Provence (16th–19th Centuries): Contributions of Archaeology to History and Social Anthropology	2020	Anne RICHIER	Anthropology	Funeral practices / Post-mortem care	Jean BOUTIER	École des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS)
Leaving mementos at funerals: A specific practice in perinatal bereavement	2020	COGNET Anna	Psychology	Grief / Bereavement, Funeral practices / Post-mortem care	Céline MASSON, Olga MEGALAKAKI	Université de Picardie Centre d'Histoire des Sociétés, des Sciences et des Conflits
From Dependency to End-of-Life Care for the Elderly: Iatrogenic Events and Prevention	2020	Sandrine SOURDET	Epidemiology	Autonomy for people at the End-of-Life, Assessment and Management of Symptoms	Bruno VELLAS	Université Toulouse III Paul Sabatier Centre de recherche en Epidémiologie et Santé des Populations
End-of-life decision-making in neonatal intensive care: balancing certainty and uncertainty	2019	MOKHATARI Mostafa	Ethics	Decision-making processes	Emmanuel HIRSCH	Université Paris Saclay Études des Sciences et des Techniques
Financial Distress in the Palliative Care Phase Among Cancer Patients: Toward a Structured Approach to End-of-Life Costs	2019	Cécile BARBARET	Palliative care	Economic issues	Benoit ALLENET	Université Grenoble Alpes Recherche Translationnelle et Innovation en Médecine et Complexité
The Making of the End of Life: An Ethnography of a Palliative Care Unit	2019	Pauline LAUNAY	Sociology	End of life in a hospital/medical-social care facility, Social and cultural representations	Dominique BEYNIER, Camille TAROT	Université Caen Normandie Centre de Recherche Risques et Vulnérabilités
Research on the influence of bioethics on the law: the case of end-of-life care	2019	Marie-Pierre POUX	Law	Law and Legislation, Ethical issues	Philippe SEGUR	Université de Perpignan Via Domitia Centre de Droit Économique et du Développement Yves Serra
Barriers and obstacles to the development of advance directives in palliative care	2019	Catherine LAMOUILLE- CHEVALIER	Palliative care	Advance planning / Advance directives	Frédérique CLAUDOT, Agata ZIELINSKI	Université de Lorraine Interdisciplinarité en Santé Publique, Interventions & Instruments de Mesure Complexes
Sedation Practices in Palliative Care Units: Between Care Work and Negotiation	2019	Vanessa Loup BLONDET	Sociology	Sedation	Pascal HINTERMEYER	Université de Strasbourg Dynamiques Européennes
Ethical Practice in Pediatric Palliative Care within a Resource Team: Secondary Care	2019	Sandra FRACHE	Pediatric palliative care, Ethics	Ethical issues, Patient support, Organisation of care	Régis AUBRY, Estelle FERRARESE	Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté Laboratoire de recherches Intégratives en Neurosciences et psychologie Cognitive
The Life Course of Palliative Care Psychologists: Learning to Live Through Death: A Clinical Study of Five "Clinical-Dialogic" Interviews	2019	Emilie GHYSSENS	Education	Experiences and perceptions	Martine LANI-BAYLE	Université Bretagne Loire Centre de recherche en éducation de Nantes

If you notice any inaccuracies in these two lists, if you would like to report a thesis to us or have yours included, please don't hesitate to contact us.
_{Last updated: July 2026}

You are defending your thesis soon?
Don't hesitate to contact us to inform us about your defense date, we will be able to both relay it in our scientific agenda and our newsletter and update the table above.

For practice theses

Vigipallia is the documentary portal of the Centre national Soins palliatifs et Fin de vie (CNSPFV). It lists digitized dissertations and theses related to end-of-life and palliative care.

Consult Vigipallia

Useful links

This list features portals offering international access to digital theses:

DART-Europe: European theses portal, is the result of a partnership of research libraries and library consortia working together to improve global access to European theses
Theses Canada Portal: enables users to locate theses and dissertations written at Canadian universities
RERODOC: electronic library of the RERO network in French-speaking Switzerland
UK e-Theses Online Service (EThOS) : service provided by the British Library, offering a single point of access to theses submitted at the majority of UK universities
DIVA: database of theses and research papers from Scandinavian universities
Open Access Theses and Dissertations (OATD): portal set up by the library of Wake Forest University (USA), which harvests several international directories of open access electronic theses
Trove: portal providing access to Australian digital theses