Cohort 2026 PhD Project
About The Project
More than 10,000 people died in LLR in 2024 alone, leaving many bereaved. Erosion of bonds in contemporary society leaves many isolated and struggling to recover, especially after a catastrophic loss such as the death of a child. Effective and compassionate support is key to adaptation, helping families regain a sense of fulfilment and purpose in life. Attitudes towards death and bereavement vary across ethnic communities. Supportive conversations thus require cultural sensitivity to tailor communication to cultural and spiritual needs. This is especially the case in LLR, a highly diverse territory, with Leicester being home to the largest Indian population in England and Wales.
The project will investigate communication challenges faced in delivering culturally sensitive bereavement support in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland (LLR). It will also create a forum of local organisations to co-design and disseminate a reusable evidence-based resource for use in communication skills training of professionals and volunteers who support bereaved families across diverse ethnic backgrounds.
Research in these areas is lacking, limiting professional development. By addressing this gap, our project centres the local priorities to sustain accessible and inclusive health, social, and support services for isolated individuals and communities; and the need for culturally specific support and resources.
The project involves Rainbows Hospice for Children and Young People, which provides free-of-charge, specialised one-to-one and group support to bereaved families of children who have died or are dying. We will work with their Counselling, Bereavement Support, and Cultural Link services to investigate challenges faced and identify effective communication practices used to support bereaved families.
Using mixed methods, we will:
• interview families and staff about their experiences with receiving and giving support
• video-record one-to-one and group support meetings to identify effective communication practices.
Building on our rich network of links with local organisations providing bereavement support to different sectors of the community, we will create a forum to co-design our evidence-based training resource. We will maximise participation of representatives of diverse ethnic background and cultural and spiritual approaches to death and bereavement.
This project has been co-created with and is supported by researchers from Loughborough University, University of Leicester and partners at Rainbows Hospice.
Project Aims
The project is a case study of bereavement support in LLR, taking into consideration ethnic, cultural, and spiritual diversity in the region, and leveraging a network of local support organisations to co-generate and disseminate culturally sensitive training resources for use in communication skills training of professionals and volunteers who support bereaved individuals and families.
Establish a forum of local organisations, centring ethnic, cultural, and spiritual diversity in LLR, to co-create, implement, evaluate, and disseminate a reusable online training resource for use in communication skills training of professionals and volunteers who support bereaved families.
Identify communication challenges that bereavement support staff face in one-to-one and group sessions for bereaved families
Identify effective practices to manage these challenges and promote culturally sensitive therapeutic communication
Project Team
- PhD Candidate: Amy Crawford
- Lead Academic Supervisor: Dr Marco Pino (Loughborough University)
- Academic Co-Supervisor: Dr Zoebia Islam (University of Leicester)
- Community Supervisor: Rebecca Sweetman (Rainbows Hospice)