Mallon A. Compassionate community structure and function: a standardised micro-model for end-of-life doulas and community members supporting those who wish to die at home.
Palliat Care Soc Pract 2021;
15:26323524211052569. [PMID:
34708210 PMCID:
PMC8543731 DOI:
10.1177/26323524211052569]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2021] [Accepted: 09/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Background:
End-of-life doulas are an emerging, non-medical support and advocacy role for
the dying and their caregivers. As more and more people are dying at home,
research shows end-of-life doulas are increasingly in demand as non-medical
advocates and companions for the dying, and their friends and families.
Compassionate communities are essential to those who wish to die at home by
helping to avoid carer stress and burnout associated with physical and
emotional labour when a person is at end of life. However, compassionate
community models are top-down in nature as they focus on public policy,
missing a domestic-scale, standardised design applicable when someone wishes
to die at home. This gap affects care networks and communications and
arguably hinders the work of end-of-life doulas.
Aim:
Findings from original qualitative research with end-of-life doulas in four
countries demonstrated the importance of compassionate communities for death
literacy and support for a person at end of life and their networks and that
all practitioners were using ad hoc, variable approaches to compassionate
community formation and maintenance. A micro-level standardised and
replicable model for organising and maintaining compassionate communities
for end-of-life doulas which completes the established compassionate
community model was developed to fill this gap and provide a vital tool for
end-of-life doulas and training programmes internationally.
Methods:
Thematic analysis of research data from qualitative semi-structured
interviews with end-of-life doulas in four countries was undertaken and
considered as a cohort as well as by country.
Conclusions:
A model was developed that addresses a gap in international approaches to
practice, offering a standardised way to discuss, teach, and implement
compassionate communities for end-of-life doulas in a variety of countries
and languages. This article discusses the research and model in detail.
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