In harnessing strong partnerships with researchers and industry end-users, my research has informed policy and practice locally and around the world to promoted grief literacy and grief-informed care across multiple sectors including bereavement care, aged care, palliative care, and community services.

 

The service Road Trauma Support WA is based on my research funded by the government of Western Australia. I have also developed and developed several workshops on grief in partnership with Relationships Australia and Cancer Council WA. I have a research-industry partnership with Grief Australia and Lionheart Camp for Kids, which ensures research informed their practice and their practice informs research.

 

My research has revealed several important discoveries that make a difference to the lives of grieving persons, including:

• Partnering with national and international scholars to produce a program of studies of the impact of the unique stressors associated with bereavement in the wake of losses to COVID-19.

• Leading an international consortium to define and illustrate the concept of grief literacy, which informs initiatives in Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, Canada, the USA, and throughout Europe.

• Leading a research program on caregiving and bereavement, showing that:

  • people caring for a dying family member might not be prepared for the death, although they are often assumed to be prepared.

  • caring significantly affects carers’ grief, quality of life, and general health and it takes nearly a year to adapt to the impact of bereavement, highlighting the need for ongoing support.

  • researchers need strategies to promote the participation of the full range of bereaved people to address the neglected areas of bereavement care.

• Co-developing the Public Health Model of Grief, which is widely published and underpins practice around the globe.