Compassionate Communities and the Value of Life: Integrating Dying, Care, and Grief into Global Health Innovation
We are thrilled to announce an exciting new collaboration that brings the critical issues of dying, care, and grief into the heart of the World Health Innovation Summit (WHIS) mission. Following a highly productive discussion, Dr. Libby Sallnow from UCL has shared her incredible work and enthusiasm for integrating compassionate care into our global initiatives.
Dr. Sallnow, who chaired the influential Lancet Commission on the Value of Death (published in 2022), is pioneering efforts to reshape how we approach these universal experiences. Her work is a powerful exemplar of person-centred health, directly aligning with the mission of the Global Social Prescribing Alliance.
Pioneering Work in Compassionate Care Dr. Sallnow’s team is driving several major projects that translate compassionate care into measurable global policy and action:
- Global Compassionate Communities Survey: Her team has a published protocol for a global survey on compassionate communities and is currently developing the results and policy recommendations for publication.
- Global Citizen’s Assembly on a Good Death: To build on the Lancet Commission’s findings, they are planning a global citizen’s assembly focused on defining a good death. Preliminary funding has been secured, and they are seeking partners to support the next crucial stages of this initiative.
- Measuring Social Return: Initial work using social return on investment (SROI) as a key metric to understand initiatives such as Compassionate Neighbours is underway. This innovative approach to measurement is essential for demonstrating the economic and societal impact of community-based care models.
An Innovation that Fits the Global Agenda This work on compassionate communities is a natural fit for WHIS’s broader policy work, including the G20 position paper on how innovation will fuel millions of new jobs. Specifically, it can be integrated under the themes of ‘Leverage exemplars’ and ‘investing in the care economy’.
We are excited that Dr. Sallnow plans to join the Global Social Prescribing Summit on July 17th, with an interest in participating in the opening panel. We believe this presence will ensure that the essential work of including dying, care, and grief is championed on the global stage. We look forward to collaborating with Dr. Sallnow to move this vital agenda from framework to real-world application.