Assisting Men who are Supporting a Person who is Dying
1. Introduction
Dying and end of life are often hidden issues in our society; accessing community support at this time can sometimes be a challenge.
This survey is part of mapping the support services and information available to men who are supporting a loved one who is dying. The services might be as specific as end-of-life caring and grief counselling, or as broad as social support, or services that offer parenting advice and support when to a father whose partner has died. Because Men tend not to access services in the same way that women do, and yet they may have a pivotal support role (as partner, father, grandfather, parent, friend etc) at such a stressful time when someone is dying, we would like to understand more about the barriers to men accessing support too.
This survey is being organised as a partnership between Relationships Australia, Cancer Council NSW, Home Hospice and the Men’s Health Information and Resource Centre at the University of Western Sydney. These organisations have put in a funding application for working with men and families in the Blacktown Local Government Area (LGA) of Western Sydney. The proposal is to map what is available for men and families in this situation, as well as get an idea what men in these circumstances need and want.
Health and community services from anywhere in Australia are invited to participate in this survey. We are looking for places and organisations that have been able to support men in this situation.