Building pathways to grief and bereavement support in China, Australasia and the Trans-Pacific
This project aims to strengthen and build relationships with institutes in China and the Pacific to facilitate research collaborations and research projects.
There is a growing public demand for innovative thinking around end-of-life care. Provision of that care poses a significant challenge for governments and social policy makers around the globe.
The Centre for Death & Society (CDAS) is the world’s only interdisciplinary research centre that examines the intersections between death, dying, and end-of-life planning. In June 2017 CDAS and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) signed a memorandum of understanding at the CDAS International Conference.
This project will build on this existing relationship. The initial aim is to strengthen the relationship and build relations with other institutes in China through face-to-face meetings that facilitate deeper discussions on research collaborations and research projects. Ultimately the team will pursue joint research projects at a transnational, global leadership level.
The initial research focus is on:
- afterlife beliefs in China and Nepal
- cultural/philosophical views about attitudes and responses to ageing and the elderly in China and Western countries
- ageing policies more broadly
- elderly lives of childless couples in China and Britain
Project activities
- Meet with delegates from CASS and La Trobe University, Melbourne to begin planning a Death and Dying Hub to be led by the University of Bath.
- Visit and host a workshop in the CASS office in Shanghai to explore opportunities for further collaboration.
- Meet the directors of the Li Ka Shing Foundation 'Heart of Gold' National Hospice Service Program to discuss how to further develop collaborative research on palliative care in China.
- Visit Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou to meet with an end-of-life care research team based there in order to support them in establishing the first palliative care association in Guangdong province.
In September 2019 the University of Bath and the Shanghai Academy signed a Memorandum of Understanding to promote links between the two institutions.