New Research Explores End-of-Life Planning Within Doula Practice

We're pleased to share the findings from the Critical Info End-of-Life Doula Pilot Evaluation, which were presented at the Death Down Under: Towards an Australian Death Studies Symposium on Friday 10 July, hosted by the Australian Death Studies Society and the DeathTech Research Team at the University of Melbourne.

This Australian pilot explored an important question:

Can a standardised end-of-life planning framework support end-of-life doulas and the people they care for?

Why this research matters

End-of-life doulas play an increasingly important role in supporting people living with life-limiting illness and their families. They provide emotional, practical, and educational support during one of life's most challenging transitions.

While the profession continues to grow, there is currently no nationally recognised framework for documenting wishes, organising important information or guiding end-of-life planning conversations.

The Critical Info Platform was designed to address this gap by providing a structured, person-centred planning framework that helps individuals gather, organise and communicate their end-of-life information in one place.

About the pilot

The pilot brought together end-of-life doulas and their clients from across Australia to evaluate how the Critical Info Platform could be integrated into everyday doula practice.

The evaluation examined three key questions:

• Can doulas successfully integrate a structured planning framework into their practice?

• Do doulas and clients find the platform useful and acceptable?

• Does participation lead to meaningful planning behaviours?

What we found

Although the pilot involved a small cohort, the early findings were encouraging.

Participants reported that using the Critical Info Platform helped them move beyond thinking about planning to actually taking action.

Among participants who completed the post-program evaluation:

• 90% took practical action

• 80% updated important documents

• 70% had important end-of-life conversations

• 78% found planning easier

• 70% shared what they learned with others

One of the strongest themes to emerge from the qualitative feedback was that participants valued having a clear, step-by-step framework.

As one participant shared:

"Having the process divided into manageable steps made a huge difference."

Looking ahead

This evaluation represents an important first step in understanding how structured planning tools can strengthen end-of-life doula practice and improve preparedness for individuals and families.

Building on these findings, Critical Info is now developing an Accredited Consultant Program for end-of-life doulas who wish to incorporate the Critical Info Platform into their practice.

The program will provide:

• Training in using the Critical Info Platform with clients

• Ongoing professional support

• Marketing resources

• A referral rebate for new client subscriptions

The aim is to create a growing network of accredited professionals who can confidently support Australians to become better prepared for death, dying and bereavement.

Read the research

If you'd like to learn more, you can access both the conference poster and the full evaluation report:

• Research Poster: Poster Presentation

• Full Evaluation Report: Evaluating a Standardised End-of-Life Planning Framework Within End-of-Life Doula Practice Report

Expressions of Interest

If you're an end-of-life doula interested in becoming one of the first Critical Info Accredited Consultants, we'd love to hear from you.

Email: catherine.ashton@criticalinfo.com.au

Together, we can help make end-of-life planning more accessible, more practical, and less overwhelming for Australians and the people who support them.