NHPCO NewsLine Spring 2021 - 30

Short
Takes

Research on EOL Doulas
During the COVID-19 pandemic, end-of-life doulas (EOLDs) are
providing innovative services to address the myriad needs of families
caring for dying individuals. This open access article, recently
published by Marian Krawczyk, PhD and Merilynne Rush, MSHP,
shares the findings of their qualitative interviews with 22 EOLD
pioneers and innovators in four countries where EOLDs are most
prevalent. EOLDs are specially trained to provide non-medical care
and support to dying individuals and their families/caregivers (learn
more about NHPCO's EOL Doula Advisory Council).
The aim of the study was to solicit the perspective of key stakeholders
and early innovators in community-based end-of-life care about the
development and practices of EOLDs. The researchers conducted 22
semi-structured interviews with participants in Australia, Canada, the
United States, and the United Kingdom. This article provides the first
detailed taxonomy of the EOLD role and services from the perspective
of subject experts in four countries. The findings are situated within
literature on the professionalization of caregiving, with particular
attention to nomenclature, role flexibility and boundary blurring, and
explicit versus tacit knowledge.

EOLDs are
specially trained
to provide
non-medical care
and support...

Also discussed is the importance of jurisdictional considerations as the
EOLD movement develops. Krawczyk and Rush speculate that the
EOLD role is potentially experiencing common developmental
antecedents similar to other now-professionalized forms of caregiving.
Their findings contribute substantial new information to the small
body of empirical research about the EOLD role and practices, provide
critical firsthand insight, and are the first research findings to explore
EOLDs from a comparative international perspective.

Marian Krawczyk

30

Newsline / Spring 2021

Merilynne Rush

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2632352420973226 https://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/interdisciplinary/staff/mariankrawczyk/ https://www.thedyingyear.org/ https://www.nhpco.org/about-nhpco/committees-and-councils/end-of-life-doula-council/

NHPCO NewsLine Spring 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NHPCO NewsLine Spring 2021