ABOUT THIS EPISODE
What if the future of end-of-life care doesn't lie in hospitals, but within our communities?
In this episode, I sit down with Professor Samar Aoun AM, internationally recognised palliative care researcher, Founder and Chair of Compassionate Communities Australia, and one of Australia's leading voices in grief, bereavement and public health approaches to end-of-life care.
Samar shares how the death of her father and the contrast between community support in Lebanon and Australia inspired her groundbreaking research into grief and bereavement. Her work challenged traditional thinking and demonstrated that 90% of people cope with grief through the support of family, friends and community, while only 10% require professional intervention.
Together, we explore why Australia is facing a demographic "tsunami of death" as the population ages, why our health and aged care systems are struggling to keep up, and how compassionate communities can help people live, die and grieve well.
We discuss the importance of rebuilding death literacy and grief literacy, why caring networks matter, and how simple acts of kindness can transform the experience of caring, dying and grieving.
What you'll hear in this episode:
- How Samar's personal experience following her father's death shaped her life's work
- The groundbreaking grief research that found 90% of people rely on community support
- Why grief has become overly medicalised and what this means for society
- What compassionate communities are and why they matter
- Why Australia is unprepared for the coming "tsunami of death"
- The gap between where Australians want to die and where they actually die
- How the Compassionate Connector program reduced hospital admissions and improved social connectedness
- Why building your caring network before you need it is essential
- The difference between transactional care and relational care in aged care settings
- Practical ways every person can become part of a compassionate community
You may not be ready to die, but at least you can be prepared.
Take care,
Catherine
Connect with Professor Samar Aoun AM
Learn more about Compassionate Communities Australia: https://compassionatecommunitiesaus.org.au/
Learn more about Professor Samar Aoun's work at the Perron Institute https://www.perroninstitute.org/research/research-groups/samar-aoun/
& the University of Western Australia: https://www.uwa.edu.au/
Resources Mentioned in This Episode
Professor Allan Kellehear – internationally recognised pioneer of the Compassionate Communities movement and public health approaches to palliative care. His work inspired much of the global compassionate communities movement and Professor Aoun's own research.
Learn more: https://www.northumbria.ac.uk/about-us/our-staff/k/allan-kellehear/
Professor Bruce Rumbold OAM – Australian researcher, educator and leading advocate for public health approaches to palliative care, bereavement and death literacy.
Learn more: https://scholars.latrobe.edu.au/bdrumbold
Compassionate Cities: Public Health and End-of-Life Care by Professor Allan Kellehear
Book information: https://books.google.com/books/about/Compassionate_Cities.html?id=wvNOP8hpEk4C
We'd love to hear from you. Send us a text :-)
The free 3-minute Critical Info Check helps you see what you’ve already got covered — and what your next step could be.
Three minutes. One next step.
Go to gettingstarted.criticalinfo.com.au
YOUR NEXT STEP
Don’t try to do everything at once.
Take the free 3-minute Critical Info Check to see what you’ve already got covered — and what your next step could be.
Take the Check:
https://gettingstarted.criticalinfo.com.au/
NEED SUPPORT?
If this episode has brought up grief, loss or bereavement, you don’t have to navigate it alone.
The Critical Info Resource Hub connects you with organisations and services offering grief, bereavement and other practical support.
Find support through the Resource Hub:
https://criticalinfo.com.au/support/
KEEP THE CONVERSATION GOING
Join Critical Chat Tuesday, a free online conversation every Tuesday at 7pm Melbourne time.
You can ask a question, listen to others or simply come as you are.
Find out more:
https://criticalinfo.com.au/events
IF SOMEONE HAS DIED
If someone you love has died, our After-Death Guide — My Loved One Has Died, What Do I Do Now? — provides practical guidance to help you navigate what needs to happen next.
Find the After-Death Guide:
https://criticalinfo.com.au/product/my-loved-one-has-died/
LEARN...
