The End-of-Life Doula International Research Group: Genesis of a Global Network

End-of-life doulas offer non-medical supports, guidance, and comfort for people with advancing serious illness, including those close to them. They have been gaining a lot of attention from the public, media, and health care systems as our previous ideas and traditions of care for dying, death, and bereavement continue to shift within the 21^st century. I research dying, death, and bereavement for a living, and over the last few years I’ve also become increasingly interested in the emergence and growth of end-of-life doulas as a transnational movement.

International Symposiums 2022 and 2023 : Milestones Achieved

In 2022 I hosted the first International End-of-Life Doula Symposium to learn more about end-of-life doulas’ work, their interests, and how their care role is developing in different countries. The Symposium was the first opportunity for end-of-life doulas to collectively discuss their work and interests within an international context. The Symposium findings were published as an open access article End-of-life doulas: international reflections on a transnational movement.

During that meeting practitioners expressed their interest in further opportunities to gather, learn from each other, and collaborate within an inclusive international context. The presenters at the Symposium also recognized the need for a collaborative approach to enhance the practice and understanding of end-of-life doulas across different cultural and health care contexts.

Consequently, in partnership with the presenters from the 2022 Symposium, we held our second Symposium in 2023. More than 40 experienced end-of-life doula practitioners and researchers from six different countries gathered to begin identifying international research priorities across two days of activities. We also initiated the End-of-Life Doula International Research Group.  Our website provides a range of free resources for end-of-life doulas, including graphics (such as the one below) and full recordings of our two previous Symposiums.

Delphi Study: An Ongoing Endeavour

Building on the momentum and the findings of the 2023 Symposium, the Research Group has developed a Delphi study, which we launched today, Monday 5th February 2024. A Delphi study is a research method that involves a structured, iterative process of collecting and refining information from a panel of experts or stakeholders over multiple rounds of questions. The main objective of a Delphi study is to reach a consensus or convergence of opinions on a particular topic or problem.

A consensus-based international research agenda will be helpful to the diverse end-of-life field of practice, both locally and globally. There will be significant value in understanding what practitioners themselves see as research priorities for the field as it continues to develop. The study represents a critical step in developing an inclusive and reflective research agenda focused on the diverse needs and practices of end-of-life doulas from different countries. We anticipate initial findings will be publicly available in July 2024. If you’d like to know more about the Delphi study please email: info@eold.org.

SAVE THE DATE: 3rd Annual Symposium: July 1st and 2nd 2024, Glasgow, UK

We are currently finalizing plans for a 2024 Symposium, which will be held as a hybrid event on July 1^st and 2^nd in Glasgow, Scotland. This gathering will be an opportunity to review progress, discuss new research, and further solidify our growing international network. We will have a diverse range of speakers discussing their work and research from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Sweden, the US and the UK. Topics include:

• Family Members’ Experiences of End-of-Life Doulas in Canada
• Integrating End-of-Life Doula into the UK’s National Health Authority
• Reflections on Learning Practices in the Training of Death Doulas in Brazil
• Cultivating Cultural Humility: The Douglas College Indigenous End-of-Life Guide Program as a Catalyst for Inclusionary Practices
• End-of-Life Doulas as a Public Health Approach to End-of-Life Care
• Family Members’ experience of Medical Assistance in Dying: Findings and the Value of End-of-Life Doulas
• Transfer or translation? Developing the End-of-Life Doula Role from English to Nordic countries

Registration is free, although there is limited in-person attendance. If you’re interested in learning more about the Symposium and/or attending, please email: info@eold.org.