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Acknowledging bereavement, strengthening communities: Introducing an online compassionate community initiative for the recognition of pandemic grief.
- Source :
-
American journal of community psychology [Am J Community Psychol] 2022 Jun; Vol. 69 (3-4), pp. 369-379. Date of Electronic Publication: 2021 Dec 22. - Publication Year :
- 2022
-
Abstract
- Despite public health measures and collective efforts, millions of individuals have unfortunately died from COVID-19 complications worldwide, leaving several million family members at risk of developing bereavement complications. In the Canadian province of Quebec, where substantial deaths were associated with COVID-19, we established an online support community for bereaved caregivers who lost a loved one during the pandemic. We explain how we created a community that recognized pandemic grief and advocated for its wider acknowledgment. We discuss "compassionate communities," the theoretical underpinning of our initiative, as a means to foster solidarity, normalize finitude, create and maintain a safe social space through group sharing, and challenging capitalist principles. We then describe the eight areas of activities inspired by the Charter of Pallium Canada: education and training, hospices and nursing homes, media and social media, commemoration, celebrations, artistic practices and storytelling, marginalized populations, and review and evaluate. We propose that online communities constitute a powerful space for community members to gather and advocate for greater awareness of the inequities found in end-of-life care and bereavement services, to denounce abusive situations experienced by many individuals who died from COVID-19 complications, and to fight against the lack of recognition experienced by numerous caregivers.<br /> (© 2021 Society for Community Research and Action.)
- Subjects :
- Canada
Family
Grief
Humans
Pandemics
Bereavement
COVID-19 epidemiology
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1573-2770
- Volume :
- 69
- Issue :
- 3-4
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- American journal of community psychology
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 34935144
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1002/ajcp.12576