A compassionate university for serious illness, death, and bereavement: Qualitative study of student and staff experiences and support needs.

Serious illness, death, and bereavement are common experiences within the work and study context. This study aims to explore the experiences and support needs of university students and staff confronted with serious illness, death, and bereavement. Semi-structured interviews and focus groups were conducted with 21 students and 26 staff. A thematic analysis resulted in three overarching themes: the university as a high-pressure environment; navigating the complex university information and support system; and disenfranchized grief. Four themes were identified in terms of what participants needed from the university: clear processes and procedures; flexibility in policy application; proactive support and recognition; and activities to enhance awareness and interpersonal communication skills. Findings from this study could enable higher education institutions to become more compassionate schools and workplaces.

Researching Compassionate Communities: Identifying theoretical frameworks to evaluate the complex processes behind public health palliative care initiatives.

BACKGROUND: Compassionate Communities have been put forward as a new model for community-based palliative care to positively impact the health and wellbeing of those experiencing challenges of serious illness, death, dying, and loss. Despite the growing international movement to develop these public health initiatives to end-of-life care, only a handful of initiatives have undergone some form of evaluation. AIM: To provide guidance on designing evaluation research by identifying theoretical frameworks to understand the development, implementation, and underlying mechanisms of Compassionate Communities. METHODS: To identify suitable theoretical frameworks for the study of Compassionate Communities, we applied two steps. The first step examined the characteristics of Compassionate Communities and translated them into assessment criteria for the selection of theoretical frameworks. The second step consisted of applying the identified assessment criteria to a list of widely used and highly cited theoretical frameworks. RESULTS: Three well-established theoretical frameworks were identified as being most suitable to study the development, implementation, and underlying mechanisms of Compassionate Communities: The Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR), the integrated-Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Services framework (i-PARIHS), and the Extended Normalization Process Theory (ENPT). CONCLUSIONS: The article supports and encourages the use of theoretical frameworks to evaluate the complex processes behind public health palliative care initiatives. The complementary use of two determinant frameworks and an implementation theory provides theoretical grounding to gain rich insights into the emergent and shifting interplays between agency, social processes, and contextual factors that shape the development and implementation of Compassionate Communities.

Mapping the ripple effects of a compassionate university for serious illness, death, and bereavement.

Background: Compassionate communities have been put forward as a promising model for community-based support for people facing serious illness, caregiving, dying, and loss. In particular, educational institutions are increasingly acknowledged as potential settings to function as compassionate schools and compassionate workplaces, cultivating acceptance and validation of these experiences beyond the university setting. Objectives: This paper investigates the activities and outcomes of a compassionate community initiative-the Compassionate University program at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel in Belgium. Design: Ripple Effects Mapping was used to guide the focus group and individual interviews conducted with core team members responsible for the development and implementation of the Compassionate University program. Methods: During the focus group and individual interviews, the core team members reflected on the program contributions, with their narratives visually depicted via a hand-drawn mind map. Qualitative data derived from this mind map were entered into XMIND mapping software and fine-tuned based on the focus group and individual interview transcripts and additional project records. Results: Thematic analysis identified four outcome areas that encapsulate the key contributions of the Compassionate University program: (i) increased acceptance and integration of topics such as serious illness, death, and bereavement into existing practices; (ii) broader support for and formalization of compassionate procedures and policies; (iii) emergence of informal networks and internal collaboration on the topics; and (iv) diffusion of compassionate ideas beyond the university. Conclusion: The Compassionate University program facilitates a cultural shift within the university environment, fostering greater acceptance of integrating topics such as serious illness, death, and bereavement into existing practices. Additionally, compassionate procedures and policies for students and staff have been formalized, and core team members are increasingly called upon to provide support on these matters. Notably, Compassionate University stands out as one of the pioneering initiatives in Europe, attracting different educational institutions seeking guidance on cultivating a more compassionate environment.

Researching Compassionate Communities From an Interdisciplinary Perspective: The Case of the Compassionate Communities Center of Expertise.

Compassionate Communities are places and environments in which people, networks, and institutions actively work together and are empowered to improve the circumstances, health, and well-being of those facing serious illness, death, dying, and loss. The study of their development, implementation, and evaluation requires an interdisciplinary research approach that has hitherto been lacking. In 2020, 8 research groups from 4 faculties at Vrije Universiteit Brussel united in the interdisciplinary Compassionate Communities Center of Expertise (COCO) to investigate Compassionate Communities. This article describes the first results of COCO: (a) an interdisciplinary mode of collaboration, (b) a shared conceptual understanding and definition of Compassionate Communities, and (c) a shared research agenda on Compassionate Communities.