Creating Supportive Environments

Title: From neighbour to carer: An exploratory study on the role of non-kin-carers in end-of-life care at home for older people living alone (2017)

Reviewing this document would be helpful if you are engaging with elderly populations and organizations that support them on their end of life journeys as a part of your Compassionate Community initiative. With the goal of supporting older people living alone who also wish to die at home, healthcare professionals and community champions can help individuals map and build informal care networks, meaningful and reciprocal neighbourly relationships, and supportive end of life experiences.

This article is not open access but can be accessed through:
DOI: 10.1177/0269216316666785

Universities and colleges can be a great resource for accessing supportive articles that aren't open access through in-kind support, and this can be a partnership opportunity for your Compassionate Community initiative. 

Title: Schools fall short when it comes to helping students-here's how they can improve - The Conversation (2019)

Schools are one of the many settings within communities where death is still a taboo despite the fact that 9 in 10 children experience death and 1 in 20 face the death of a parent. 

Reviewing this document would be helpful for insight on why schools are key settings to engage with when developing Compassionate Communities, what supports they are lacking as well as some ways to provide support to grieving students. This will equip Compassionate Communities champions with knowledge of some key topics to consider when engaging with school communities and associated stakeholders.

Title: Dealing with death at work - The Globe and Mail (2014)

With medical advances, we are able to live long while dealing with a terminal illness. So how does a workplace prepare for the loss of a employee and the grief their colleagues may feel? This article has practical tips on what to do and a action plan that is a great example. An action plan will help reduce the fear of doing something wrong and causing more grief.

To read the article, click here: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/careers/career-advic…

Title: How Grief Camp Reinforces the need for Death Education (2018)

This article talks about the importance of grief camps for children and adolescents who have experienced a death related loss. She also expressed the need for a more broad preparing for dying, death and grieving in schools. This is a great article as it is based in Canada.