While the Compassionate Community approach is global, Canada and the province of British Columbia in particular have been early and inspired adopters. Led by Dr Eman Hassan and Pablita Thomas with a line-up Canadian and international speakers, the session entitled, , will examine ways practitioners, community volunteers and health system decision-makers look at connecting to vital resources and raise awareness around grief and bereavement as a continuum of support in palliative and end-of-life care.
is a senior executive within the public health sector. She has worked in public health (ministerial and bureaucratic offices) and nonprofits sectors for over 15 years. She is currently the Executive Director of BC Hospice Palliative Care Association. Pablita sits on the BC Rural Health Linked Sectors as a sector contributor and on the Board of CARIPALCA 鈥� The Caribbean Palliative Care Association.
Dr. Hassan and Ms. Thomas were interviewed by Devon Phillips, Program Manager for Palliative Care 9I制作厂免费.
Devon Phillips (DP): In the context of serious illness, what is a Compassionate Community?
Eman Hassan (EH)
The Compassionate Community approach is a global movement that started in 2011 by Professor in Australia. This was after his visit to the Kerala province in India where he was impressed by how the nonprofit community partners helped people experiencing a life-limiting illness as well as those experiencing grief and bereavement. Professor Kelleher described this kind of approach as a Compassionate Community, and he identified a number of principles and actions in the that shape such communities. He talked about how end-of-life life experiences are not the sole responsibility of the health system and that it is everyone鈥檚 responsibility to care for each other during times of crisis and loss.
Canada was one of the first countries that adopted this model, and British Columbia (BC) was the first province in Canada to apply this approach provincially to engage and educate community partners towards one vision. In BC, we have more than 125 community partners who have been supported by seed grants and access to free training, toolkits, and coaching to either initiate a Compassion Community or expand an existing initiative that aligns with these principles.
DP: Your all-day session includes speakers that will address many different Compassionate Communities -Canadian, international, pediatric, indigenous, and so on. What were your goals when you designed this session?
EH: A Compassionate Community is not a prescribed model or framework. It's a concept with a key set of principles that any community-led initiative or program can adopt. It's not a brand. Anything that's community- led, grassroots, and at the same, adopts those principles and supports a shared vision to address a public health issue, this is a Compassionate Community. That's why Pablita and I decided to bring different ideas, different approaches, different models that would not limit the participants or the audience to one specific way of adopting this concept.
PT: The role of a Compassionate Community regarding grief speaks exactly to what Eman is saying. It is an approach to support individuals. Bereavement support is being delivered within different models and within different organizations, both formally and informally. We are a very strong nation in Canada and there's a lot that we do very well in the majority of our healthcare services which are rooted in community. But at the same time, when we look at integration within our models, there is room for improvement. This is where international models can come into play. The cross pollination of models can support our communities and our healthcare systems to provide more accessible services. In our session, we are focusing on grief and bereavement because this is an important part of the continuum of palliative care support, and at the same time, everyone has or will experience grief at some point.
DP: At the 9I制作厂免费 International Palliative Care Congress, people are coming from many countries and cultures. Do you think your session will speak to their different types of communities?
PT: Absolutely! I sit on the . And the one thing that we see as a region of 18 million people in a population spread out between 20 islands, is that grief and bereavement is supported at a community level by spiritual leaders and informal family care supports, but it's not integrated within the healthcare system at all. And if it is, there are usually stigmas and taboos that come with seeking those supports in a clinical or paid practice forum. And I know that's very similar in other jurisdictions like Brazil and some African countries for example. There is a great need to identify grief and bereavement community support, but also look at this as a public health need that should be integrated within our healthcare system, while navigating the taboos that exist for those seeking services. This is a valuable conversation, and I think international representatives will come to this with their lived experiences. 鈥淎ha鈥� moments are expected!
DP: Could this be an opportunity for people to examine the support services in their own institutions and communities, and obtain inspiration and advice on how to start a Compassionate Community?
EH: Yes! A variety of ideas and approaches will be shared through different panels and presentations. We expect input from people coming from all walks of life, countries and communities, and culturally diverse populations. It's going to be very rich and inspiring.
Because the Compassionate Community movement is global, it's very appropriate to be presenting to international audiences. At the same time, we are focusing the application and the potential benefits of using the Compassionate Community approach in the context of grief and bereavement because after the pandemic, a worldwide escalation of demands for grief and bereavement support was evident. Even in a developed country like Canada, the health system doesn't offer much of the psychosocial support needed. These needs are mostly addressed by the non-profit profit sector in the community. The October 16 session is designed to remind us that community plays an important role in supporting the mental health and well-being of people who are going through grief and bereavement journeys. The speakers will share various effective ways to support community to sustain this vital role.
DP: Any last thoughts?
EH: There is something for everyone in our session. While grief and bereavement is a personal experience, supporting each other is a social responsibility at the individual level and at the community and society level. There will be many ideas and experiences that will be shared, that people can relate to and take back to their community and adopt.
PT: I also think that many of our presenters wear dual hats, they're either clinicians that are in the advocacy realm of work or they're clinicians who are direct providers, and they see how different models of care that are evidence-informed have supported the work that they do. I feel that attendees will be more confident about their grief and bereavement literacy, and how they can integrate approaches from the Compassionate Communities concept within their current practices.
We want to thank the 9I制作厂免费 congress for asking us to present on this because it took COVID for us to really understand the need for grief and bereavement services at a community level. And it's really nice to see that this is a whole day forum where we can really talk about grief and bereavement, from informal, formal, clinical and non-clinical lenses. This
is a journey we all are on. Having grief and bereavement front and centre at the Congress helps to normalize these issues so that as healthcare providers and volunteers, we can better support our communities.