Talking about + Planning for the End of Life in South Asian Communities

On October 9th we are honoured to be hosting a special discussion about Planning for the End of life in South Asian Communities in the UK.

Over the past 18 months, the Subco Trust, Compassion in Dying and researchers from the University of Bristol have been working together to explore experiences of planning ahead, end-of-life care and bereavement among South Asian elders in London.

Talking about the end of life and our wishes for the future is important if we want family members and clinicians to know what care and treatment we would want (and not want) if we become seriously ill. These conversations form the foundation of Advance Care Planning – the formal process of documenting our wishes.

But having these conversations can be challenging and emotional: we might worry how family members will react if we talk about our own wishes for the end of our lives, or be unsure how to respond when a loved one wants to talk about their future illness or care.

In South Asian communities, there can be specific challenges in talking about these subjects and accessing care and support. As in other minoritised ethnic communities, South Asian groups face inequities in access to Advance Care Planning and support towards the end of life and in bereavement. In this panel discussion, we will tackle these subjects head on.

The panel will be facilitated by Dr Jamilla Hussain, Consultant in Palliative Medicine at Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and a Senior Research Fellow at the Bradford Institute for Health Research. Jamilla will be joined by Taskin Saleem and Naheed Anwar from the Subco Trust, Usha Grieve from Compassion in Dying, and Dr Olly Clabburn from the University of Bristol.

The research has been conducted as part of the Good Grief Connects project, funded by the National Lottery Foundation Bringing People Together Fund.

Do join us on October 9th as we discuss this topic, and launch a co-produced report which aims to ensure South Asian communities are better understood and supported.