Researcher

Dr Leigh Donovan

Keywords

Biography

Dr Donovan graduated with a degree in Social Work in 2001 and has since become highly regarded in Australia for her contribution to the field of bereavement in the context of paediatric oncology and paediatric palliative care. Dr Donovan has held the inaugural position of Bereavement Coordinator at the Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital (Queensland, Australia) since 2010 and in 2016 completed her PhD through UNSW and The Behavioural Sciences...view more

Dr Donovan graduated with a degree in Social Work in 2001 and has since become highly regarded in Australia for her contribution to the field of bereavement in the context of paediatric oncology and paediatric palliative care. Dr Donovan has held the inaugural position of Bereavement Coordinator at the Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital (Queensland, Australia) since 2010 and in 2016 completed her PhD through UNSW and The Behavioural Sciences Unit, Kids Cancer Centre, Sydney Children's Hospital, exploring the experience and needs of parents whose child has died from cancer. In collaboration with Redkite Dr Donovan published By My Side a collection of parent narratives from her thesis, which aim to shine a light on what it means to be a bereaved parent. Dr Donovan was awarded a 2017 Churchill Fellowship and will travel to the USA, Canada, UK, Ireland, Sweden and South Africa to visit paediatric hospital and community based bereavement care programs and research centres. Dr Donovan aims to draw on this fellowship to inform the development of best practice guidelines for paediatric hospital bereavement care in Australia.


My Qualifications

BSocWk

PhD


My Awards

Churchill Fellowship 2017


My Research Activities

Bereavement, Paediatric Palliative Care, End of Life Care, Paediatric Oncology

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