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Background
Funding was awarded from the NIHR Policy Research Programme (PRP), and the study ran from September 2023 to March 2025. The study was co-led by Dr Catriona Mayland (University of Sheffield) and Dr Sabrina Bajwah (King’s College London). 

Why does this research matter?
Bereavement services are not reaching enough people from ethnically diverse communities. Despite the availability of bereavement support services across England, there is inequality in access. In half of all services, only 1 in 20 people accessing support are from ethnically diverse communities. It is important to understand why services are not reaching these individuals, and how services can improve. 

How did we do this?

• Speaking with people from ethnically diverse communities who have been bereaved. This helped us to better understand their grief experiences, support needs and how bereavement services can improve.
• Speaking with people working at and with bereavement support services. This helped us to understand what they are doing to improve access and meet the needs of people from ethnically diverse communities.
• Identifying ways to improve support. We have brought these findings together to develop ways to improve support for bereaved people.

In Sheffield, we worked in partnership with Sheffield Chinese Community Centre, St
Luke’s Hospice, Compassionate Sheffield, Roshni, ShipShape, and the Deep End
Research Alliance.

What did we find?

• Trust is broken: Many people have faced racism in the past. This makes them feel unsafe or unwelcome when they try to ask for help from services. 
• Culture and religion matter: Prayer and traditions like sharing food and
  community support with funerals give comfort. But sometimes people feel
  pressured to 'be strong'; or hide their sorrow.
• Some people face more challenges: Grief can be harder for people new to
  the UK because of language barriers and a lack of local support.
• Services need support: Bereavement services want to help, but many don't
  have the diverse staff and resources, cultural awareness, or steady funding to
  do it well.

We worked with families, community leaders, services and decision-makers to suggest solutions:

1. Take action on racism: Bereavement services must admit racism exists and work hard to make their spaces safe and welcoming for everyone.
2. Community-led support: Help community groups build support services alongside local people, to make sure the help actually fits their lives.
3. Better funding: Small, community-run groups need reliable money to keep their doors open.

For more information 
Please contact Dr Catriona Mayland (Principal investigator) or visit our project  .

Summaries of the project in different languages are included below. You can also follow the project on social media: X @BereavementECfA /Instagram @bereavementcareforall

Equitable bereavement care for all BENGALI

Equitable bereavement care for all CANTONESE

Equitable bereavement care for all MANDARIN

Equitable bereavement care for all POLISH

Equitable bereavement care for all URDU