*3.4. Data Collection*

During October and November of 2017, researcher K.v.d.W. (who is both an anthropologist and a nurse) visited the hospice 18 times, during both day and evening shifts. A total of 120 h of observation were conducted. The degree of participation varied depending on the situation. Detailed field notes were written to cover the observations. The focus of the observations was interactions between healthcare professionals (nurses and physicians) and patients and their relatives. The researcher looked for explicit rituals and more-or-less implicit ritualized care practices taking place during the day. The researcher used the elements and qualities of ritual as described by Grimes (2014) as a model to describe and analyze practices from different angles and to identify specific meaning-making practices. Between observations, the researcher used techniques of informal interviewing to further discuss certain topics or situations with participants.

Five nurses, one physician, two patients and one relative participated in additional semi-structured interviews, conducted by researcher K.v.d.W. Each interview lasted, on average, 45 min and was audio recorded. Topic lists were developed by the research group (K.v.d.W., M.T., M.H. and A.v.d.H.)2 and based on themes from literature on death mentalities and themes from observations. The main topics were: the connection between spirituality (as defined above) and ritualization, experiences with meaning-making practices in everyday care situations and views on life and death.
