Bakelants Hanne, Dury Sarah, Chambaere Kenneth, Deliens Luc, Vanderstichelen Steven, Van Droogenbroeck Filip, Cohen Joachim
End-of-Life Care Research Group, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussels, Belgium.
End-of-Life Care Research Group, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
Palliat Care Soc Pract. 2025 May 23;19:26323524251336766. doi: 10.1177/26323524251336766. eCollection 2025.
At different points in our lives, regardless of our age, gender, location, or socioeconomic background, we all face experiences of serious illness, death, and bereavement. Yet, these topics are often avoided in communities and are predominantly addressed within professional healthcare narratives and practices. In recent years, death and grief festivals have been planned to offer "ways in" to these topics via participatory, creative, educational, and cultural activities. In Belgium, the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) University hosted its first death and grief festival on the university campus, the Compassionate Week, as a part of the Compassionate University program.
This study aims to gain a deeper understanding of students' and staff's motivations for engaging in the Compassionate Week activities and their experiences of the activities they attended.
A qualitative descriptive research design was used to understand the motivations and experiences of students and staff who participated in the Compassionate Week activities.
A total of 94 individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with students and staff.
A thematic analysis resulted in three overarching reasons for participating in the Compassionate Week activities: (i) to help with one's own grief; (ii) to support friends or colleagues; and (iii) to learn about death, bereavement, and the support offered by the university. Additionally, three main types of experience were constructed from participants' reflections on the activities. The activities (i) created openness to express and share experiences of loss and bereavement, (ii) encouraged compassion (i.e., reflecting on and acting upon the suffering of others), and (iii) raised awareness of serious illness, death, and bereavement as everyday experiences in school and work life.
Our study suggests that death and grief festivals, such as the Compassionate Week, can contribute to greater emotional and practical support for students and staff confronted with the experiences of serious illness, death, or bereavement.
在我们生命中的不同阶段，无论年龄、性别、所处位置或社会经济背景如何，我们都会面临重病、死亡和丧亲之痛的经历。然而，这些话题在社区中常常被回避，主要在专业医疗保健的叙述和实践中被提及。近年来，人们举办了死亡与悲伤节，旨在通过参与性、创造性、教育性和文化性活动，为探讨这些话题提供“切入点”。在比利时，布鲁塞尔自由大学（VUB）在大学校园举办了首届死亡与悲伤节——“同情周”，作为“同情大学”项目的一部分。
本研究旨在更深入地了解学生和教职员工参与“同情周”活动的动机，以及他们参与活动的体验。
采用定性描述性研究设计，以了解参与“同情周”活动的学生和教职员工的动机和体验。
对学生和教职员工共进行了94次个人半结构化访谈。
主题分析得出参与“同情周”活动的三个总体原因：（i）帮助自己应对悲伤；（ii）支持朋友或同事；（iii）了解死亡、丧亲之痛以及学校提供的支持。此外，参与者对活动的反思形成了三种主要体验类型。这些活动（i）营造了表达和分享失去与丧亲之痛经历的开放氛围，（ii）激发了同情心（即思考他人的痛苦并采取行动），（iii）提高了对重病、死亡和丧亲之痛作为学校和工作生活中日常经历的认识。
我们的研究表明，像“同情周”这样的死亡与悲伤节，可以为面临重病、死亡或丧亲之痛经历的学生和教职员工提供更多情感和实际支持。
