Death, dying and bereavement care resources for paramedics and EMS

Paramedics and other emergency services are often called when people die at home and in the community.

This page links to Te Ārai resources relating to death, dying and bereavement care by emergency services

Paramedics consistently express a desire for more training in death notification and bereavement support. The Council of Ambulance Authorities then invited Natalie to publish on this topic in their biannual publication First by CAA

Click here for First Issue 20: Natalie's article P66-69

How well are we guiding bereavement care in out-of-hospital deaths?

Caring for bereaved families is one of the most challenging aspects of a paramedic’s role. In this new article, we examine what guidance paramedics in Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia receive to support families during an out-of-hospital death

Learn more about what guidance informs paramedic care of families here
A black binder labeled 'Guidelines,' a pen, papers with bar graphs and charts, and a pair of glasses on a desk.
Diagram of a Service User Engagement Ladder showing levels from 'Appropriation' at the bottom to 'Service-User Led' at the top with an illustration of a person climbing a ladder.

Existing research about the care of families in emergencies largely draws on routinely collected data and clinician perspectives, and lacks service-user input.

Should paramedic research involve families?

A woman facing away from the camera in the foreground, with two paramedics walking toward her in the background, near an ambulance on a grassy area.

Mum, I think we might ring the ambulance, okay?

Our qualitative study explores 38 bereaved New Zealanders’ experiences of emergency ambulance care when their family member was nearing or at the end of their life.

Close-up of a small toy ambulance with roads and medical symbols on it, resting on a flat surface.

Emergency care experiences of patients known to palliative care services

A new open-access publication in Australasian Emergency Care explores the Emergency Department care experiences of patients known to palliative care services and their families.

Read more and access the publication here
A yellow and green emergency ambulance moving quickly on a city street, with blurred background buildings.

Beyond Lights & Sirens

Preparing and supporting paramedics for unsuccessful, unwarranted or unwanted resuscitation

When saving lives is your business, the decisions and care surrounding unsuccessful resuscitations are complex. Dr Natalie Anderson’s PhD explored paramedic perspectives and support for resuscitation decision-making in out-of-hospital emergencies.

Read more here
A sculpted wooden relief depicting a skeleton on the left and a muscular man on the right, fighting with a caduceus in the middle.

What is it the role of resuscitation at the end of life?