Literature Review

End-of-life doulas’ growing value proposition in hospice Hospice News; by Holly Vossel; 5/14/24 Hospices and other health care providers are increasingly recognizing the value proposition of end-of-life doulas. Organizations are taking varied routes to leverage doula’s skills to improve quality. End-of-life doulas support patients and their families in a number of broad and diverse ways, according to Erin Collins, program director of The Peaceful Presence Project. Collins is also a certified hospice and palliative care nurse and end-of-life doula. She serves as vice-chair of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization’s (NHPCO) End-of-Life Doula Advisory Council. Editor's Note: Caution. What training, professional experience, credentials, referrals, and other qualifications does the individual, end-of-life care doula bring? Not bring? What gaps in your services (for which a doula might be called) indicate that your organization needs to "step up" your community education, caregiver/family resources, psychosocial support, and volunteer presence?

What is an end-of-life doula? Psychology Today, by Cheralyn Leeby, PhD, LMFT; 3/31/24"The appellation ‘end-of-life doula’ (EOLD) is increasingly used as an umbrella term to identify lay people, primarily women, who provide a diversity of non-medical supports—social, emotional, practical, and spiritual—for people nearing the end of life, including those close to them" (Krawzik and Rush, 2020). The term doula is derived from the Greek word "doule," which means helper or maidservant. Families hire death coaches to facilitate, guide, and emotionally support the dying process.

Death doulas: Helping people at the end of their life The Conversation, by Joel Abrams; 3/5/24The role of death doulas is still relatively new, so the terminology and definitions of what they are based on what they do are in flux. They are sometimes referred to as an end-of-life doula, soul midwife, death coach, dying guide, death midwife and palliative care doula. ... In addition to their doula training, doulas bring their own professional and personal experience to the role. International research on death doulas has noted that many who have become death doulas have a background in professional healthcare, social care or education, and may already have some experience with death.

What are death doulas?SwiftTelecast, by Shawn Butlere; 2/21/24... That’s why some people turn to end-of-life doulas. They are among the professionals who can help someone prepare for their death and reflect on their life: their greatest joys and regrets, any fears or worries on their mind, and how they want to be remembered. ... Unlike hospice, the cost of a doula is not covered by Medicare. ... Doulas may charge an hourly rate, from $45 to $100, or on a sliding scale. Or you may be quoted a flat fee from $500 to $5,000. 

Death doulas a growing trend in end-of-life careAlbany Times-Union, by Wendy Liberatore; 12/31/23SARATOGA SPRINGS — As a young woman lay dying, one of her last acts was to write several cards to each of her small children. Each held a special message to be opened on a special day – graduation, wedding, the birth of their first child. But the young mother might not have been able to do this without the inspiration of a death or end-of-life doula – a person who helps their terminal clients reach their final goals, as a way to die peacefully.

End-of-life doulas are changing conversation around death in Central OregonCentral Oregon Daily (Bend, OR)December 14, 2023Sisters, OR—... Cheryl Adcox has been working as an end-of-life doula in Central Oregon since 2018. That’s when the registered nurse opened Hand-in-Hand End of Life Doula Services. For her, death is “sacred and it’s magical and it’s part of the mystery of life.” It’s a view that few people understand. It’s one these death doulas understand intimately.