Wednesday, May 10, 2023

Supporting End-of-Life Care: Death Doulas & Death Cafes

 Supporting End-of-Life Care: Death Doulas and Death Cafes with Carrie Forbes, MLS

Webinar from the NNLM Region 1.  Original air date April 18, 2023.

A relatively new option for the dying and their families, death doulas began seeing a rise in popularity over the past few years. A Death/End of Life Doula (EOLD) is a non-medical professional role that has experienced rapid growth & media attention in recent years. A Death/EOLD provides non-medical, holistic, physical, emotional, and spiritual support for the dying and their loved ones, before, during and after death. The role has been termed “the missing piece of the hospice mission… and a valuable supplement to end of life care.” This class will briefly review the history of Death/EOLDs, how they support the dying and their loved ones. The class will also explain and demonstrate how libraries can offer “Death Café" programs to help patrons have a safe place to learn about the death and dying experience, along with tools & resources to share with their loved ones. 

About the Speaker:

Carrie Forbes is a liaison librarian at Laupus Library, the health resources library of East Carolina University, she also received her MLS from ECU. In addition to her professional work as a liaison librarian, she volunteers with a local hospice as a certified Death/End of Life Doula. 

Objectives:
    • To increase library staff awareness and understanding of the role of death/end-of-life doulas who can help patrons prepare for loss and the end of life of loved ones.
    • To demonstrate how library staff can offer a “death café" to help patrons learn about easy & free end-of-life documents, how to find death doulas, and how death cafes can help to lessen the fears surrounding death and grief.

This presentation addresses health information and data related to the NNLM initiative of confronting health misinformation associated with end of life care. 


Carrie's LibGuide on Death Doula & Death Cafe Resources

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