Amrit Dhillon, Ms Amanda Forti
Facilitators
Amrit Dhillon
National Project, Innovation and Evaluation Manager (Prevention & Bereavement)
Red Nose Australia
Amanda Forti
Remote Clinical Educator
CRANAplus
Abstract:
Expected Workshop Outcomes
By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:
• Identify the unique challenges of providing pregnancy loss and bereavement support in rural and remote settings, including limited services, workforce isolation, and fragmented care pathways.
• Apply co-design principles to develop practical, culturally safe bereavement supports that are relevant to their local context.
• Adapt metropolitan-based resources and pathways for use in rural and remote practice, including scenarios where families return home following loss in tertiary services.
• Develop a draft, locally relevant resource, tool, or practice idea that can be implemented in participants’ own service settings.
• Increase confidence in supporting families experiencing pregnancy loss with limited resources, while maintaining cultural safety, sensitivity, and continuity of care.
Workshop Overview & Interactive Format
This interactive, hands-on workshop will explore how rural and remote health professionals can create, adapt, and implement bereavement support resources in contexts where access to specialist services is limited and families often return home following care in metropolitan hospitals.
Drawing on the Healing Through Community co-design model, facilitators will briefly share insights from national consultation with rural and remote clinicians and community members with lived experience. Participants will then engage in small-group activities to explore real-world scenarios commonly faced in rural and remote settings, such as:
• Supporting families returning home after pregnancy loss in a metropolitan service
• Providing bereavement care with minimal onsite resources
• Navigating cultural, geographic, and system barriers to follow-up care
Participants will work collaboratively to map gaps, identify strengths within their local systems, and co-design practical tools, prompts, or pathways that could realistically be used in their own practice environments. The workshop will prioritise peer learning, shared problem-solving, and the translation of ideas into tangible, implementable outputs.
The session will conclude with group reflection and sharing, allowing participants to learn from each other’s approaches and take away adaptable ideas and resources.