Collaboratory 2026 PhD Project
Key Details
Project Title: Building an inclusive bereavement support ecosystem through improved communication in Leicester, Leicestershire, and Rutland
Deadline:11:59pm, 30th November 2025
Host University: Loughborough University
School/department: Social Sciences and Humanities
Start date: Wednesday 1st April 2026
Funding offer: Tuition fees covered in full (worth approx. £15-17k across full PhD programme). Monthly stipend based on £20,780 per annum, pro rata, tax free.
Working hours: Full-time (minimum 37.5 hrs per week).
Working style: Primarily in-person at host university. Flexible working supported. Working pattern to be agreed between successful candidate and lead supervisor.
Project Supervisors
- Lead Academic Supervisor: Dr Marco Pino (Loughborough University)
- Academic Co-Supervisor: Dr Zoebia Islam (University of Leicester)
- Community Supervisor: Rebecca Sweetman (Rainbows Hospice)
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. The successful candidate for this project will be enrolled at Loughborough University.
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.
- 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
- 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.
NOTE: The successful candidate for this project will be required to undergo a formal Disclosure and Barring Services check.
Core Competencies
Category | Competencies | Assessed: Application (A), Interview (I) |
Comprehension and evaluation | Strong understanding of the project and its subject matter. | A / I |
Analytical, researcher mindset with keen attention to detail. | A / I | |
Communicate complex concepts with clarity and precision. | A / I | |
Able to identify connections, patterns, gaps, and irregularities in information/data. | I | |
Able to interpret data/information confidently with logic and empathy to derive meaning. | I | |
Social and emotional | Demonstrable experience of responding effectively to changing contexts, information and demands. | A |
Ability to persevere in the face of challenges/failures and to remain constructive in developing solutions. | A | |
Demonstrable passion for learning with clear drive and curiosity to undertake this specific research project. | A / I | |
Willingness to immerse oneself in the research subject matter and make a contribution to new knowledge through a PhD. | A / I | |
Strong desire to make a positive community impact through the research. | A / I | |
Willingness to think deeply about complex concepts and engage with academic ideas and theory. | A / I | |
Preparedness and potential for success | Experience of working, collaborating and communicating effectively with different stakeholders. | A |
High level of self-motivation and ability to work with minimal guidance. | A / I | |
Strong organisational and time-management skills with the ability to balance and prioritise multiple tasks. | A / I | |
Ability to identify potential challenges and complexities and thoughtfully consider possible solutions. | A / I | |
Able to identify the technical, personal, or professional skills required for a task and take action to develop these. | A / I | |
Community Context | Genuine desire to undertake community-engaged research over more traditional approaches to research. | A |
Understand the impact of and need for the inclusion of diverse experiences and points of view in research. | A / I | |
Appreciation/understanding of the importance of community insight and experience in the generation of new knowledge. | A / I | |
Awareness/understanding of the broader societal context related to the subject matter of the project. | A / I |
Project-Specific Competencies
| Essential | Assessed: Application (A), Interview (I) | Desirable | Assessed: Application (A), Interview (I) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Understanding of current work/research/debates relating to bereavement support | A / I | Experience with working with vulnerable participants, such as clients accessing a counselling service or support group | A / I |
| Understanding of contextual issues related to the project like mental ill health, parenthood, and children’s mortality | A / I | Familiarity with ethical considerations in research involving human participants | A / I |
| Understanding of the current work/research/debates relating to inequalities in accessing healthcare and social care services, with emphasis on ensure equitable access to bereavement support | A / I | Experience of working or conducting research in hospice, palliative care, and/or bereavement support contexts | A / I |
| A / I | Experience with working with vulnerable participants such as clients accessing a counselling service or support group | A / I |
References for Further Reading
- Pino, M. (2022). Hurting and blaming: Two components in the action formation of complaints about absent parties. Research
on Language and Social Interaction, 55(3), 260-278. https://doi.org/10.1080/08351813.2022.2101298
This reading is to familiarise with Pino’s prior work on bereavement support using conversation analysis. Download at
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08351813.2022.2101298 - Islam, Z., Pollock, K., Patterson, A., Hanjari, M., Wallace, L., Mururajani, I., Conroy, S., & Faull, C. (2023). Thinking ahead about medical treatments in advanced illness: A qualitative study of barriers and enablers in end-of-life care planning with patients and families from ethnically diverse backgrounds. Health Soc Care Deliv Res, 11(7):1-135. doi: 10.3310/JVFW4781. PMID: 37464868. This is to familiarise with Islam’s work on inequalities in palliative and end-of-life care. Please read the scientific summary.
Download at: https://www.journalslibrary.nihr.ac.uk/hsdr/JVFW4781#s1 - Bereavement Care Service Standards This is to familiarise with bereavement support in the UK. Download at: https://www.cruse.org.uk/organisations/bereavementcare-service-standards/
- Harris, D. (2009). Oppression of the bereaved: A critical analysis of grief in Western society. Omega-Journal of Death and
Dying, 60(3), 241-253. https://doi.org/10.2190/OM.60.3.c
This reading is to understand problems affecting bereaved people. Download at
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/42973606_Oppression_of_the_Bereaved_A_Critical_Analysis_of_Grief_in_Western_Society - Hoey, E. M., & Kendrick, K. H. (2017). Conversation analysis. In A. M. B. De Groot & P. Hagoort (Eds.), Research Methods in
Psycholinguistics and the Neurobiology of Language: A Practical Guide (pp. 151-173). Wiley Blackwell.
This is reading is about conversation analysis, one of the research methods used in the project. Download at
https://pure.mpg.de/rest/items/item_2328034_8/component/file_3513001/content - Parry, R., Whittaker, B., Pino, M., Jenkins, L., Worthington, E., & Faull, C. (2022). RealTalk evidence-based communication
training resources: development of conversation analysis-based materials to support training in end-of-life-related health and
social care conversations. BMC Med Educ, 22(1), 637. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-022-03641-y
This reading is about the RealTalk approach to designing training resources for use in communication skills training. Download
at https://bmcmededuc.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12909-022-03641-y - Selman, L., Sutton, E., Mirra, R., Stone, T., Gilbert, E., Rolston, Y.,…Harrop, E. (2023). ‘Sadly I think we are sort of still quite
white, middle-class really’: Inequities in access to bereavement support: Findings from a mixed methods study. Palliative
Medicine, 37(4), 586-601. https://doi.org/10.1177/02692163221133665
This reading is about inequities in access to bereavement support.
Download at https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/02692163221133665 - Mayland, C.R., Powell, R.A., Clarke G.C., et al. (2021). Bereavement care for ethnic minority communities: A systematic
review of access to, models of, outcomes from, and satisfaction with, service provision. PLoS One. 2021; 30; 16(6); e0252188. This reading is about bereavement care for ethnic minority communities. Download at: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0252188