Partnership to ensure the sustainability of a public health palliative care project in Bangladesh through community theater: A follow on project
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Sussex
Department Name: Brighton and Sussex Medical School
Abstract
The aim of this proposal is to follow on the MRC-AHRC(GCRF) funded project titled 'Partnership to ensure the sustainability of a public health palliative care project in Bangladesh through community theatre' and take the existing project activities to a new audience.
Palliative care is essentially care for the dying. While access to palliative care has recently been acknowledged as a human right, providing palliative care has also been recognized as a global health challenge. Almost eighty percent of adults who could benefit from palliative care are currently living in low and middle-income countries and do not have access to the levels of palliative care provision expected in most developed countries.
In this context of global disparity in how palliative care is both framed and practiced authors argue that the quest for a global health system offering universal health coverage should include palliative care as a fundamental goal. As a result public health palliative care - the idea that care for terminally ill people should be returned to communities - has gained global interest.
The current map of world palliative care development shows Bangladesh as being in 'stage 3a', which means that isolated palliative care services and training provision exist. A recent situation analysis revealed that although Bangladesh has approximately 600,000 incurable patients at any point in time, the country only has few palliative care programs that served less than 1500 patients in 2013.
Inspired by other community-driven, public health approaches to palliative care, the Centre for Palliative Care (CPC) of the BSM Medical University (BSMMU) initiated a pilot project in 2015 to provide palliative care in urban slums in Dhaka, through the use of Community Palliative Assistants. An evaluation of the project identified lack of community engagement as a major threat to the sustainability of the slum project. In this context the earlier project aimed to develop an innovative boundary-crossing interdisciplinary partnership to provide support to the sustainability of the urban slum palliative care project in Bangladesh, by developing a culturally appropriate and scientifically sound strategy for enhancing public engagement through 'Community theatre'. The community theatre unit of BRAC, the largest NGO of Bangladesh is currently organizing the theatre performances in the urban slum.
Recently BSM Medical University has received a grant from World Hospice and Palliative Care Association, WHPCA to expand the community based palliative care activities from urban slum to the peri-urban and rural areas of Bangladesh. Accordingly, they have started a new project in a peri urban and rural area near capital Dhaka. This has given rise a new opportunity for public engagement which was not foreseeable at the application stage of the earlier project as there was no indication of such support from WHPCA.
Learning from the community based palliative care in urban slum the project team believe that it is crucial for the BSM Medical University to engage the community from the onset of their project in new peri urban and rural community based palliative care project that they have just started. By incorporating the community theatre from the inception of the new project in peri urban and rural context the community engagement dimensions could be ensured and the mistake of the urban project could be avoided. The experience of the development of the theatre project in urban Bangladesh could be utilized in developing a project for new user community.
The follow on grant will enhance the engagement with, and impacts from the existing AHRC-MRC project. The follow on grant will allow to revise the community engagement strategy for public health palliative care in resource-poor settings through the performing arts to be more comprehensive including experience ranging from rural, peri urban and urban communities of Bangladesh.
Palliative care is essentially care for the dying. While access to palliative care has recently been acknowledged as a human right, providing palliative care has also been recognized as a global health challenge. Almost eighty percent of adults who could benefit from palliative care are currently living in low and middle-income countries and do not have access to the levels of palliative care provision expected in most developed countries.
In this context of global disparity in how palliative care is both framed and practiced authors argue that the quest for a global health system offering universal health coverage should include palliative care as a fundamental goal. As a result public health palliative care - the idea that care for terminally ill people should be returned to communities - has gained global interest.
The current map of world palliative care development shows Bangladesh as being in 'stage 3a', which means that isolated palliative care services and training provision exist. A recent situation analysis revealed that although Bangladesh has approximately 600,000 incurable patients at any point in time, the country only has few palliative care programs that served less than 1500 patients in 2013.
Inspired by other community-driven, public health approaches to palliative care, the Centre for Palliative Care (CPC) of the BSM Medical University (BSMMU) initiated a pilot project in 2015 to provide palliative care in urban slums in Dhaka, through the use of Community Palliative Assistants. An evaluation of the project identified lack of community engagement as a major threat to the sustainability of the slum project. In this context the earlier project aimed to develop an innovative boundary-crossing interdisciplinary partnership to provide support to the sustainability of the urban slum palliative care project in Bangladesh, by developing a culturally appropriate and scientifically sound strategy for enhancing public engagement through 'Community theatre'. The community theatre unit of BRAC, the largest NGO of Bangladesh is currently organizing the theatre performances in the urban slum.
Recently BSM Medical University has received a grant from World Hospice and Palliative Care Association, WHPCA to expand the community based palliative care activities from urban slum to the peri-urban and rural areas of Bangladesh. Accordingly, they have started a new project in a peri urban and rural area near capital Dhaka. This has given rise a new opportunity for public engagement which was not foreseeable at the application stage of the earlier project as there was no indication of such support from WHPCA.
Learning from the community based palliative care in urban slum the project team believe that it is crucial for the BSM Medical University to engage the community from the onset of their project in new peri urban and rural community based palliative care project that they have just started. By incorporating the community theatre from the inception of the new project in peri urban and rural context the community engagement dimensions could be ensured and the mistake of the urban project could be avoided. The experience of the development of the theatre project in urban Bangladesh could be utilized in developing a project for new user community.
The follow on grant will enhance the engagement with, and impacts from the existing AHRC-MRC project. The follow on grant will allow to revise the community engagement strategy for public health palliative care in resource-poor settings through the performing arts to be more comprehensive including experience ranging from rural, peri urban and urban communities of Bangladesh.
Planned Impact
Collaboration
This proposed follow on project will strengthen the already developed research network and partnership between academic and non-academic stakeholders from the UK and Bangladesh through the initial MRC-AHRC funded project on the same theme. The project will identify pathways to sustainability by developing a community engagement strategy in public health palliative care in urban, rural and peri-urban Bangladesh through use of popular theatre by bringing together expertise from palliative medicine, public health, anthropology, community development, popular culture and art. The initial partnership has already attracted medical, humanities and art researchers into new and exciting areas of enquiry on public health palliative care. The follow on project will strengthen the partnership and enhance the possibilities to last beyond the life of the project to develop a critical mass for interdisciplinary research in this field in Bangladesh and beyond.
Project sustainability
A modified public engagement strategy developed through this follow on project's community theatre intervention exercise will directly benefit the clients and their carers of the peri-urban and rural palliative care project by enhancing its community engagement and providing means to ensure sustainability. Utilizing the learning from the earlier urban slum project by incorporating the community theatre from the inception of the new project in peri urban and rural context the community engagement dimensions could be ensured, ultimately securing sustainability through the follow on project.
Capacity-Building
In Bangladesh public health palliative care is practiced through often disconnected practitioners and with little input from the research communities. The collaboration thorough the earlier MRC-AHRC project has started to contribute in the interdisciplinary research capacity between practitioners of medicine, humanities, art and community development practitioners and scholars. Bangladeshi partners have started to learn from UK experts about ethnography, ethno-drama, public and informal pedagogy, social and medical aspects of palliative medicine. On the other hand UK researchers have also learned about the local social, cultural and research contexts of Bangladesh. This learning process will be heighten through this follow on project that will include activities across urban, rural and peri-urban community in Bangladesh.
Recognition
The earlier project has already brought palliative care research to the forefront of health research in Bangladesh. In particular, the earlier project has started to extend the knowledge base of public health and art in the field of palliative medicine. This has facilitated for the first time a collaboration between two major institutions of Bangladesh, namely BRAC, the largest Non-Governmental development organization and BSM Medical University, the only medical university of Bangladesh. BSM Medical University has particular influence in health policy of the country thus can influence in bringing palliative care research at the forefront of the research landscape in Bangladesh. The follow on project which will increase the scope of the partnership by extending the project activities from urban poor community to rural and peri-urban community of Bangladesh thus providing a comprehensive understating of the issue.
BSMMU will benefit by learning about community development issues from BRAC, and in return BRAC will learn from BSMMU about public health palliative care, which may encourage BRAC to recognise end of life issues and to incorporate them in its portfolio of activities.
The outputs of the follow on project will include report of the exploratory research in peri-urban and rural community, the co-produced community theatre performance and it's video recording, and a strategy for community engagement in public health palliative care through community theatre in resource poor setting in
This proposed follow on project will strengthen the already developed research network and partnership between academic and non-academic stakeholders from the UK and Bangladesh through the initial MRC-AHRC funded project on the same theme. The project will identify pathways to sustainability by developing a community engagement strategy in public health palliative care in urban, rural and peri-urban Bangladesh through use of popular theatre by bringing together expertise from palliative medicine, public health, anthropology, community development, popular culture and art. The initial partnership has already attracted medical, humanities and art researchers into new and exciting areas of enquiry on public health palliative care. The follow on project will strengthen the partnership and enhance the possibilities to last beyond the life of the project to develop a critical mass for interdisciplinary research in this field in Bangladesh and beyond.
Project sustainability
A modified public engagement strategy developed through this follow on project's community theatre intervention exercise will directly benefit the clients and their carers of the peri-urban and rural palliative care project by enhancing its community engagement and providing means to ensure sustainability. Utilizing the learning from the earlier urban slum project by incorporating the community theatre from the inception of the new project in peri urban and rural context the community engagement dimensions could be ensured, ultimately securing sustainability through the follow on project.
Capacity-Building
In Bangladesh public health palliative care is practiced through often disconnected practitioners and with little input from the research communities. The collaboration thorough the earlier MRC-AHRC project has started to contribute in the interdisciplinary research capacity between practitioners of medicine, humanities, art and community development practitioners and scholars. Bangladeshi partners have started to learn from UK experts about ethnography, ethno-drama, public and informal pedagogy, social and medical aspects of palliative medicine. On the other hand UK researchers have also learned about the local social, cultural and research contexts of Bangladesh. This learning process will be heighten through this follow on project that will include activities across urban, rural and peri-urban community in Bangladesh.
Recognition
The earlier project has already brought palliative care research to the forefront of health research in Bangladesh. In particular, the earlier project has started to extend the knowledge base of public health and art in the field of palliative medicine. This has facilitated for the first time a collaboration between two major institutions of Bangladesh, namely BRAC, the largest Non-Governmental development organization and BSM Medical University, the only medical university of Bangladesh. BSM Medical University has particular influence in health policy of the country thus can influence in bringing palliative care research at the forefront of the research landscape in Bangladesh. The follow on project which will increase the scope of the partnership by extending the project activities from urban poor community to rural and peri-urban community of Bangladesh thus providing a comprehensive understating of the issue.
BSMMU will benefit by learning about community development issues from BRAC, and in return BRAC will learn from BSMMU about public health palliative care, which may encourage BRAC to recognise end of life issues and to incorporate them in its portfolio of activities.
The outputs of the follow on project will include report of the exploratory research in peri-urban and rural community, the co-produced community theatre performance and it's video recording, and a strategy for community engagement in public health palliative care through community theatre in resource poor setting in
Publications
Akter S
(2022)
Solidarity and suffering: enrolled terminal patients' and their caregiver's experiences of the community-based palliative care programme in an urban slum of Bangladesh.
in Palliative care and social practice
| Title | Community Theatre, Interactive Graffiti and Documentary film |
| Description | A community theatre script on the role of community in end of life care was prepared. This was developed based on the ethnographic study done on the perception and practice of death, dying and end of life care among the Narayangonj population, a peri-urban area near Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh. This ethnography and the performance was a follow on of the previous ethnography and performance done on the same theme in a urban slum of Bangladesh as part of the earlier project. In the follow on project a performances of the theatre took place in Narayngonj. This theatre performance was accompanied by an innovative interactive graffiti, in which the community members were encouraged to draw graffiti on the theme of death, dying and end of life care. In addition a documentary film has been made on the performance of the theatre and the interactive graffiti. The theatre and the interactive graffiti sensitized the general population about the importance of lay participation in end of life care. Earlier another documentary film was made to demonstrate the experience of conducting a multidisciplinary project. |
| Type Of Art | Performance (Music, Dance, Drama, etc) |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Impact | The project gave an unique opportunity for the diverse interdisciplinary team members to work together and experience how cross fertilization of disciplinary perspectives can produce useful outputs. The team members also benefitted by being sensitized to various disciplines. For example, palliative care physicians got exposed to the idea of arts intervention for health, community theatre, cultural studies and visa versa. The project also showed how an art intervention can sensitize general people on health issues. In addition a new artistic method called 'interactive Graffiti' has been introduced to public engagement. This new method allowed the community members to engage with the theme of death and dying and reflect on it though an artistic means. Combined use of theatre and the interactive graffiti has also been proved to be very engaging. The enthusiasm of the whole process has been captured in the documentary film made as part of this project. Earlier another documentary was made on the experience of conducting multidisciplinary project, which is being used as a leaning material for academics and students of University of Sussex, UK and the University of Liberal Arts, Bangladesh . The documentary is available in the website of University of Sussex. Furthermore, through this project two early career researchers from Bangladesh developed their capacity on ethnographic research. |
| Description | This is a follow on project of the earlier project titled, 'Partnership to ensure the sustainability of a public health palliative care project in Bangladesh through community theatre. In addition to the outputs produced in the previous project this project has produced the following: -an ethnographic study report on death, dying and end of life care of peri-urbna and rural community of Bangladesh, - a community theatre script on the theme of death, dying and end of life care - a short documentary on the performance of the community theatre, - an interactive graffiti on the theme of death and dying - a strategy for use of art in public engagement for community based palliative care in particular and public health in general. The follow on project strengthened the partnership of the diverse interdisciplinary team members who produced useful outputs through cross fertilization of disciplinary perspective in the previous project. The follow on project provided additional evidence to show how an art intervention can sensitize general people on health issues. For example in addition to the theatre performances in the follow on project a new art method was introduced namely 'Interactive Graffiti.' The video has also been produced as a learning material for those who want to use art for public engagement. Also through the previous and current project two junior researchers developed their capacity on ethnographic research as well as in writing journal articles. |
| Exploitation Route | The theatre script that we have produced could be used by other organizations who are using theatre as a tool for public engagement. The documentary film produced as part of the project can be used as a teaching and learning material for students and academics who would like to run interdisciplinary projects. The documentary film is available in Sussex University website. We have submitted an article on the believes and practices of death and end of life care among Bangladeshi population to 'Indian Journal of Palliative Care'. Knowledge of end of life care from non western context is scarce. When published this will be a significant contribution to the global knowledge on end of life care. We have also written an article on the experience of working in an interdisciplinary project which will be submitted to a journal soon. Once published this open access journal article will be a useful reference for academics interested in multidisciplinary project. We are also in the process of writing another grant proposal with the same partners on the theme of interdisciplinary understanding of the death and dying in global south. |
| Sectors | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Healthcare |
| Description | A community theatre on the role of community in end of life care was performed earlier in the urban slum of Dhaka, the capital city of Dhaka and later in Narayngonj, a peri- urban area near Dhaka. The script was developed based on an ethnography done in Narayangonj, on people's understanding on death, dying and end of life care. This ethnography was a follow up of the earlier ethnography done in the urban area of Dhaka. In the follow on project the theatre performance was accompanied by an innovative interactive graffiti. The community people were asked to draw graffiti on the theme of death and dying. Together with the theatre performance and the graffiti generated huge interest and enthusiasm. among the audience which has been captured in the documentary film. The theatre and graffiti exercise sensitized the general population about the importance of lay participation in end of life care. Two documentary films have been produced to demonstrate the role of art in public engagement for health intervention and the process of running interdisciplinary projects. This documentary film has been shown among the students and faculty members of University of Liberal Arts, Bangladesh and the Department of Global Health and Infection, Brighton Sussex Medical School, University of Sussex, UK. The documentary film is available in the University of Sussex website. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2019 |
| Sector | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Healthcare |
| Description | Community Theatre, interactive Graffiti and Documentary film |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Description | Partnership to ensure the sustainability of a public health palliative care project in Bangladesh through community theater: A follow on project |
| Amount | £83,707 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | AH/S005919/1 |
| Organisation | Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 02/2019 |
| End | 01/2020 |
| Title | Ethnography |
| Description | Ethnographic data were collected from urban, peri-urban and rural community of Bangladesh on their understanding and practice of death, dying and end of life care. This ethnographic data was used to develop culturally sensitive community theatre script. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | These studies resulted capacity development of early career researchers on ethnography and helped the script writer to develop a culturally sensitive theatre script on the topic of end of life care. A journal article has also been written based on this ethnography which has been submitted to 'Indian journal of Palliative Care' and is currently under review. |
| Description | Partnership to ensure the sustainability of a public health palliative care project in Bangladesh through community theatre |
| Organisation | BRAC Centre |
| Country | Bangladesh |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | The original research project continued with a follow on project. The fist project targeted the audience of urban poor of Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh and follow on project targeted audience from a peri-urban and rural community in Narayangonje. For both the projects I have organized and facilitated number of workshops with partners. The workshops examined ways in which the perspectives of different disciplines (medical anthropology, palliative care, cultural studies, community theatre, public health) can be applied to interdisciplinary research and public engagement for community based palliative care. Workshops were also organized to develop theatre script and development of strategy for use of art in health interventions. I have coordinated the overall activities of the project including supervising the ethnographic research on perception and practice on death and dying of the urban, peri-urban and rural community. The other team members of the project provided inputs on their respective expertise elaborated in the next section. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Malabika Sarker, of BRAC University, a public health researcher provided public health input to the project and supported two Bangladeshi researchers who conducted the ethnography. Nezamdduin Ahmed, palliative care physician of BSM Medical University has provided with the relevant information on palliative care that needs to be incorporated in public engagement activities. He also ensured the access of the researchers and the theatre activists to the palliative care project in the run by BSM Medical University. Rita Rosline Costa and Kollol Barua of BRAC Centre facilitated the community theatre performances in the urban, peri-urban and rural area of Bangladesh. Sumon Rahman of University of Liberal Arts provided support in developing the script for the community theatre as well as the interactive graffiti, an innovative art media. He also coordinated the making of the documentary film on the project. Mia Perry of Glasgow University and Janaka Jaywickrama of York University provided inputs on community art interventions during the workshop and the development of strategy for use of art in health interventions. University of Sussex provided logistics, venue and administrative supports for the workshops. |
| Impact | Outputs from both the original and follow on Projects include: 1. Report of the ethnographic research on death, dying and end of life care of urban, peri-urban and rural areas of Bangladesh. 2. A script of a community theatre 3. Performance of community theatre 4. Interactive graffiti (as part of follow on project) 5. Strategy for using art in health interventions (as part of the follow on project) 6. Two documentary films (one on expreicne of working in multidisciplinary team and the other on the experience of combining community theatre and interactive graffiti) The collaboration is multi- disciplinary including perspectives from medical anthropology, public health, palliative Care, community theatre and cultural studies. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Partnership to ensure the sustainability of a public health palliative care project in Bangladesh through community theatre |
| Organisation | BRAC Centre |
| Country | Bangladesh |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | The original research project continued with a follow on project. The fist project targeted the audience of urban poor of Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh and follow on project targeted audience from a peri-urban and rural community in Narayangonje. For both the projects I have organized and facilitated number of workshops with partners. The workshops examined ways in which the perspectives of different disciplines (medical anthropology, palliative care, cultural studies, community theatre, public health) can be applied to interdisciplinary research and public engagement for community based palliative care. Workshops were also organized to develop theatre script and development of strategy for use of art in health interventions. I have coordinated the overall activities of the project including supervising the ethnographic research on perception and practice on death and dying of the urban, peri-urban and rural community. The other team members of the project provided inputs on their respective expertise elaborated in the next section. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Malabika Sarker, of BRAC University, a public health researcher provided public health input to the project and supported two Bangladeshi researchers who conducted the ethnography. Nezamdduin Ahmed, palliative care physician of BSM Medical University has provided with the relevant information on palliative care that needs to be incorporated in public engagement activities. He also ensured the access of the researchers and the theatre activists to the palliative care project in the run by BSM Medical University. Rita Rosline Costa and Kollol Barua of BRAC Centre facilitated the community theatre performances in the urban, peri-urban and rural area of Bangladesh. Sumon Rahman of University of Liberal Arts provided support in developing the script for the community theatre as well as the interactive graffiti, an innovative art media. He also coordinated the making of the documentary film on the project. Mia Perry of Glasgow University and Janaka Jaywickrama of York University provided inputs on community art interventions during the workshop and the development of strategy for use of art in health interventions. University of Sussex provided logistics, venue and administrative supports for the workshops. |
| Impact | Outputs from both the original and follow on Projects include: 1. Report of the ethnographic research on death, dying and end of life care of urban, peri-urban and rural areas of Bangladesh. 2. A script of a community theatre 3. Performance of community theatre 4. Interactive graffiti (as part of follow on project) 5. Strategy for using art in health interventions (as part of the follow on project) 6. Two documentary films (one on expreicne of working in multidisciplinary team and the other on the experience of combining community theatre and interactive graffiti) The collaboration is multi- disciplinary including perspectives from medical anthropology, public health, palliative Care, community theatre and cultural studies. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Partnership to ensure the sustainability of a public health palliative care project in Bangladesh through community theatre |
| Organisation | BRAC University |
| Country | Bangladesh |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The original research project continued with a follow on project. The fist project targeted the audience of urban poor of Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh and follow on project targeted audience from a peri-urban and rural community in Narayangonje. For both the projects I have organized and facilitated number of workshops with partners. The workshops examined ways in which the perspectives of different disciplines (medical anthropology, palliative care, cultural studies, community theatre, public health) can be applied to interdisciplinary research and public engagement for community based palliative care. Workshops were also organized to develop theatre script and development of strategy for use of art in health interventions. I have coordinated the overall activities of the project including supervising the ethnographic research on perception and practice on death and dying of the urban, peri-urban and rural community. The other team members of the project provided inputs on their respective expertise elaborated in the next section. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Malabika Sarker, of BRAC University, a public health researcher provided public health input to the project and supported two Bangladeshi researchers who conducted the ethnography. Nezamdduin Ahmed, palliative care physician of BSM Medical University has provided with the relevant information on palliative care that needs to be incorporated in public engagement activities. He also ensured the access of the researchers and the theatre activists to the palliative care project in the run by BSM Medical University. Rita Rosline Costa and Kollol Barua of BRAC Centre facilitated the community theatre performances in the urban, peri-urban and rural area of Bangladesh. Sumon Rahman of University of Liberal Arts provided support in developing the script for the community theatre as well as the interactive graffiti, an innovative art media. He also coordinated the making of the documentary film on the project. Mia Perry of Glasgow University and Janaka Jaywickrama of York University provided inputs on community art interventions during the workshop and the development of strategy for use of art in health interventions. University of Sussex provided logistics, venue and administrative supports for the workshops. |
| Impact | Outputs from both the original and follow on Projects include: 1. Report of the ethnographic research on death, dying and end of life care of urban, peri-urban and rural areas of Bangladesh. 2. A script of a community theatre 3. Performance of community theatre 4. Interactive graffiti (as part of follow on project) 5. Strategy for using art in health interventions (as part of the follow on project) 6. Two documentary films (one on expreicne of working in multidisciplinary team and the other on the experience of combining community theatre and interactive graffiti) The collaboration is multi- disciplinary including perspectives from medical anthropology, public health, palliative Care, community theatre and cultural studies. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Partnership to ensure the sustainability of a public health palliative care project in Bangladesh through community theatre |
| Organisation | BRAC University |
| Country | Bangladesh |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The original research project continued with a follow on project. The fist project targeted the audience of urban poor of Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh and follow on project targeted audience from a peri-urban and rural community in Narayangonje. For both the projects I have organized and facilitated number of workshops with partners. The workshops examined ways in which the perspectives of different disciplines (medical anthropology, palliative care, cultural studies, community theatre, public health) can be applied to interdisciplinary research and public engagement for community based palliative care. Workshops were also organized to develop theatre script and development of strategy for use of art in health interventions. I have coordinated the overall activities of the project including supervising the ethnographic research on perception and practice on death and dying of the urban, peri-urban and rural community. The other team members of the project provided inputs on their respective expertise elaborated in the next section. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Malabika Sarker, of BRAC University, a public health researcher provided public health input to the project and supported two Bangladeshi researchers who conducted the ethnography. Nezamdduin Ahmed, palliative care physician of BSM Medical University has provided with the relevant information on palliative care that needs to be incorporated in public engagement activities. He also ensured the access of the researchers and the theatre activists to the palliative care project in the run by BSM Medical University. Rita Rosline Costa and Kollol Barua of BRAC Centre facilitated the community theatre performances in the urban, peri-urban and rural area of Bangladesh. Sumon Rahman of University of Liberal Arts provided support in developing the script for the community theatre as well as the interactive graffiti, an innovative art media. He also coordinated the making of the documentary film on the project. Mia Perry of Glasgow University and Janaka Jaywickrama of York University provided inputs on community art interventions during the workshop and the development of strategy for use of art in health interventions. University of Sussex provided logistics, venue and administrative supports for the workshops. |
| Impact | Outputs from both the original and follow on Projects include: 1. Report of the ethnographic research on death, dying and end of life care of urban, peri-urban and rural areas of Bangladesh. 2. A script of a community theatre 3. Performance of community theatre 4. Interactive graffiti (as part of follow on project) 5. Strategy for using art in health interventions (as part of the follow on project) 6. Two documentary films (one on expreicne of working in multidisciplinary team and the other on the experience of combining community theatre and interactive graffiti) The collaboration is multi- disciplinary including perspectives from medical anthropology, public health, palliative Care, community theatre and cultural studies. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Partnership to ensure the sustainability of a public health palliative care project in Bangladesh through community theatre |
| Organisation | Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University |
| Country | Bangladesh |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The original research project continued with a follow on project. The fist project targeted the audience of urban poor of Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh and follow on project targeted audience from a peri-urban and rural community in Narayangonje. For both the projects I have organized and facilitated number of workshops with partners. The workshops examined ways in which the perspectives of different disciplines (medical anthropology, palliative care, cultural studies, community theatre, public health) can be applied to interdisciplinary research and public engagement for community based palliative care. Workshops were also organized to develop theatre script and development of strategy for use of art in health interventions. I have coordinated the overall activities of the project including supervising the ethnographic research on perception and practice on death and dying of the urban, peri-urban and rural community. The other team members of the project provided inputs on their respective expertise elaborated in the next section. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Malabika Sarker, of BRAC University, a public health researcher provided public health input to the project and supported two Bangladeshi researchers who conducted the ethnography. Nezamdduin Ahmed, palliative care physician of BSM Medical University has provided with the relevant information on palliative care that needs to be incorporated in public engagement activities. He also ensured the access of the researchers and the theatre activists to the palliative care project in the run by BSM Medical University. Rita Rosline Costa and Kollol Barua of BRAC Centre facilitated the community theatre performances in the urban, peri-urban and rural area of Bangladesh. Sumon Rahman of University of Liberal Arts provided support in developing the script for the community theatre as well as the interactive graffiti, an innovative art media. He also coordinated the making of the documentary film on the project. Mia Perry of Glasgow University and Janaka Jaywickrama of York University provided inputs on community art interventions during the workshop and the development of strategy for use of art in health interventions. University of Sussex provided logistics, venue and administrative supports for the workshops. |
| Impact | Outputs from both the original and follow on Projects include: 1. Report of the ethnographic research on death, dying and end of life care of urban, peri-urban and rural areas of Bangladesh. 2. A script of a community theatre 3. Performance of community theatre 4. Interactive graffiti (as part of follow on project) 5. Strategy for using art in health interventions (as part of the follow on project) 6. Two documentary films (one on expreicne of working in multidisciplinary team and the other on the experience of combining community theatre and interactive graffiti) The collaboration is multi- disciplinary including perspectives from medical anthropology, public health, palliative Care, community theatre and cultural studies. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Partnership to ensure the sustainability of a public health palliative care project in Bangladesh through community theatre |
| Organisation | Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University |
| Country | Bangladesh |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The original research project continued with a follow on project. The fist project targeted the audience of urban poor of Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh and follow on project targeted audience from a peri-urban and rural community in Narayangonje. For both the projects I have organized and facilitated number of workshops with partners. The workshops examined ways in which the perspectives of different disciplines (medical anthropology, palliative care, cultural studies, community theatre, public health) can be applied to interdisciplinary research and public engagement for community based palliative care. Workshops were also organized to develop theatre script and development of strategy for use of art in health interventions. I have coordinated the overall activities of the project including supervising the ethnographic research on perception and practice on death and dying of the urban, peri-urban and rural community. The other team members of the project provided inputs on their respective expertise elaborated in the next section. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Malabika Sarker, of BRAC University, a public health researcher provided public health input to the project and supported two Bangladeshi researchers who conducted the ethnography. Nezamdduin Ahmed, palliative care physician of BSM Medical University has provided with the relevant information on palliative care that needs to be incorporated in public engagement activities. He also ensured the access of the researchers and the theatre activists to the palliative care project in the run by BSM Medical University. Rita Rosline Costa and Kollol Barua of BRAC Centre facilitated the community theatre performances in the urban, peri-urban and rural area of Bangladesh. Sumon Rahman of University of Liberal Arts provided support in developing the script for the community theatre as well as the interactive graffiti, an innovative art media. He also coordinated the making of the documentary film on the project. Mia Perry of Glasgow University and Janaka Jaywickrama of York University provided inputs on community art interventions during the workshop and the development of strategy for use of art in health interventions. University of Sussex provided logistics, venue and administrative supports for the workshops. |
| Impact | Outputs from both the original and follow on Projects include: 1. Report of the ethnographic research on death, dying and end of life care of urban, peri-urban and rural areas of Bangladesh. 2. A script of a community theatre 3. Performance of community theatre 4. Interactive graffiti (as part of follow on project) 5. Strategy for using art in health interventions (as part of the follow on project) 6. Two documentary films (one on expreicne of working in multidisciplinary team and the other on the experience of combining community theatre and interactive graffiti) The collaboration is multi- disciplinary including perspectives from medical anthropology, public health, palliative Care, community theatre and cultural studies. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Partnership to ensure the sustainability of a public health palliative care project in Bangladesh through community theatre |
| Organisation | University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh |
| Country | Bangladesh |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The original research project continued with a follow on project. The fist project targeted the audience of urban poor of Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh and follow on project targeted audience from a peri-urban and rural community in Narayangonje. For both the projects I have organized and facilitated number of workshops with partners. The workshops examined ways in which the perspectives of different disciplines (medical anthropology, palliative care, cultural studies, community theatre, public health) can be applied to interdisciplinary research and public engagement for community based palliative care. Workshops were also organized to develop theatre script and development of strategy for use of art in health interventions. I have coordinated the overall activities of the project including supervising the ethnographic research on perception and practice on death and dying of the urban, peri-urban and rural community. The other team members of the project provided inputs on their respective expertise elaborated in the next section. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Malabika Sarker, of BRAC University, a public health researcher provided public health input to the project and supported two Bangladeshi researchers who conducted the ethnography. Nezamdduin Ahmed, palliative care physician of BSM Medical University has provided with the relevant information on palliative care that needs to be incorporated in public engagement activities. He also ensured the access of the researchers and the theatre activists to the palliative care project in the run by BSM Medical University. Rita Rosline Costa and Kollol Barua of BRAC Centre facilitated the community theatre performances in the urban, peri-urban and rural area of Bangladesh. Sumon Rahman of University of Liberal Arts provided support in developing the script for the community theatre as well as the interactive graffiti, an innovative art media. He also coordinated the making of the documentary film on the project. Mia Perry of Glasgow University and Janaka Jaywickrama of York University provided inputs on community art interventions during the workshop and the development of strategy for use of art in health interventions. University of Sussex provided logistics, venue and administrative supports for the workshops. |
| Impact | Outputs from both the original and follow on Projects include: 1. Report of the ethnographic research on death, dying and end of life care of urban, peri-urban and rural areas of Bangladesh. 2. A script of a community theatre 3. Performance of community theatre 4. Interactive graffiti (as part of follow on project) 5. Strategy for using art in health interventions (as part of the follow on project) 6. Two documentary films (one on expreicne of working in multidisciplinary team and the other on the experience of combining community theatre and interactive graffiti) The collaboration is multi- disciplinary including perspectives from medical anthropology, public health, palliative Care, community theatre and cultural studies. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Partnership to ensure the sustainability of a public health palliative care project in Bangladesh through community theatre |
| Organisation | University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh |
| Country | Bangladesh |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The original research project continued with a follow on project. The fist project targeted the audience of urban poor of Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh and follow on project targeted audience from a peri-urban and rural community in Narayangonje. For both the projects I have organized and facilitated number of workshops with partners. The workshops examined ways in which the perspectives of different disciplines (medical anthropology, palliative care, cultural studies, community theatre, public health) can be applied to interdisciplinary research and public engagement for community based palliative care. Workshops were also organized to develop theatre script and development of strategy for use of art in health interventions. I have coordinated the overall activities of the project including supervising the ethnographic research on perception and practice on death and dying of the urban, peri-urban and rural community. The other team members of the project provided inputs on their respective expertise elaborated in the next section. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Malabika Sarker, of BRAC University, a public health researcher provided public health input to the project and supported two Bangladeshi researchers who conducted the ethnography. Nezamdduin Ahmed, palliative care physician of BSM Medical University has provided with the relevant information on palliative care that needs to be incorporated in public engagement activities. He also ensured the access of the researchers and the theatre activists to the palliative care project in the run by BSM Medical University. Rita Rosline Costa and Kollol Barua of BRAC Centre facilitated the community theatre performances in the urban, peri-urban and rural area of Bangladesh. Sumon Rahman of University of Liberal Arts provided support in developing the script for the community theatre as well as the interactive graffiti, an innovative art media. He also coordinated the making of the documentary film on the project. Mia Perry of Glasgow University and Janaka Jaywickrama of York University provided inputs on community art interventions during the workshop and the development of strategy for use of art in health interventions. University of Sussex provided logistics, venue and administrative supports for the workshops. |
| Impact | Outputs from both the original and follow on Projects include: 1. Report of the ethnographic research on death, dying and end of life care of urban, peri-urban and rural areas of Bangladesh. 2. A script of a community theatre 3. Performance of community theatre 4. Interactive graffiti (as part of follow on project) 5. Strategy for using art in health interventions (as part of the follow on project) 6. Two documentary films (one on expreicne of working in multidisciplinary team and the other on the experience of combining community theatre and interactive graffiti) The collaboration is multi- disciplinary including perspectives from medical anthropology, public health, palliative Care, community theatre and cultural studies. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Community Theatre, Inteactive Graffitti and documentary film |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | A community theatre on the role of community in end of life care was performed in urban slum, peri- urban and rural area in and around Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh. In two consecutive projects two ethnographies were done one in the urban area and the other in peri-urban and rural area on people's understanding on death, dying and end of life care. A separate set of performances took place in urban slum area as part of the earlier project. In the follow on project the theatre performance in peri -urban area was accompanied by an innovative interactive graffiti on the theme of death and dying. The theatre performance and the graffiti generated lots of interest and enthusiasm. among the audience. The theatre and graffiti exercise sensitized the general population about the importance of lay participation in end of life care. Documentary film was also made to capture the experience of these two art interventions. Earlier a documentary film was also made on the experience of conducing multidisciplinary project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018,2019 |