Developing a compassionate university: Insights from a longitudinal process evaluation.

Compassionate communities are gaining momentum as a new public health approach emphasizing community support during times of serious illness, death, and bereavement. However, evidence on their development, particularly in higher education, is limited. This study investigates the development of a Compassionate University, examining the underlying processes and contextual factors shaping its development.

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.

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.

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.

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.