Storytelling is at the heart of the human experience.
While dying and death is an individual experience, our stories reveal a common narrative. Stories are about being human. They allow us to see the similarities, accept comfort, express gratitude or regret, learn and grow.
We have provided The Reflection Room® as an opportunity for you to reflect. If you like, you can write about your experiences with dying and death. The Reflection Room® is also an opportunity for others to read other people’s reflections.
We hope you find this a positive experience. If you think reflecting will cause you discomfort or negative feelings, simply take advantage of the website and enjoy!
Who we are
We are a team of researchers working to improve end-of-life care. We are studying whether reflection and storytelling are positive for people who have experienced a death. We also want to know if reading stories is positive helps thinking about dying and death.
What we will do
We will be collecting all the Reflections that people leave on TheReflectionRoom.ca. We will analyze them to find out the kinds of reflections people leave. We may include what people write (or parts) in publications, conference presentations, and in education materials.
So….. if you want your reflection to remain anonymous on TheReflectionRoom.ca, don’t include your name or the names of other the people. If you don’t mind the names being published, feel free to include them. Or you can write a reflection and tell us not to publish it on TheReflectionRoom.ca. We’ll consider it as part of our research, but it won’t be made public.
We also have a brief survey if you would kindly fill it in whether you read stories, write your own reflection, or nothing at all!
If you would like to receive a copy of the final results of this research study click here and we will send you a report on the results when they ready….
Thank you,
Paul Holyoke, Barry Stephenson, Rosemary Georges, Elizabeth Kalles
This study is funded through the SE Research Centre (https://research.sehc.com/).
If you have questions about the research or about your role in it, please feel free to contact the researchers at research@sehc.com.
The Research Ethics Board at Southlake Regional Health Centre reviewed this research. It is in compliance with Southlake Regional Health Centre’s ethics policy. If you have concerns about how you have been treated or your rights, contact the research ethics board administrator. Telephone: 905-895-4521, ext. 6237 Email: cchitu@southlakeregional.org
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We have installed physical versions of the Reflection Room in the following places:
RetireAustralia, 79 King William Street, Kent Town, South Australia 5067
Red Lake Adult Learning Centre, Red Lake ON, February 24 – March 23 2020
Columbia Forest LTC, Waterloo ON, February 3 – 28 2020
Dryden Public Library & Chapel of Dryden Regional Health Centre, Dryden ON, January 15 – February 12, 2020
Dying.dialogues 2020 at OCAD University, Toronto ON, January 25 2020
THEMUSEUM in Kitchener, Kitchener ON, September 19, 2019 – January 2020
Sunnyside Senior Services, Kitchener, ON, November 4th – 15th 2019
Dialogue on Death Week, First Unitarian Universalist Church of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, Manitoba, October 4 – November 4th, 2019
Projection Week, Montreal, Quebec, October 14th – 20th 2019
Collingwood Public Library partnered with Hospice Georgian Triangle, Collingwood Ontario, September 23rd – October 11th 2019
Aurora College Thebecha Campus, Fort Smith, Northwest Territories, September 3rd – October 16th 2019
CHPCA Conference, Ottawa ON, September 18 – 20th 2019
Innisfree Hospice, Kitchener ON, July 3rd – August 6th 2019
Lisaard House, Cambridge ON, June 3rd to July 2nd 2019
Guelph General Hospital, Guelph ON, June 3rd – June 21st 2019
West Parry Sound Health Centre, Parry Sound ON, May 9th – May 31st 2019
Hospice Palliative Care Ontario Conference, April 2019
Hospice Wellington, Waterloo ON, April 15th – April 30th 2019
University of Calgary – Health Sciences Library, Calgary AB (January 4 – February 1)
Hospice Simcoe, Barrie ON (January 18 – March 8)
Memorial University, St. John’s, Newfoundland, September 27th to 29th, 2017
Eastern Health, St. John’s, Newfoundland, September 25th to 29th, 2017
Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Conference, Ottawa, September 20th to 23rd, 2017
International Public Health & Palliative Care Conference, Ottawa, September 17th to 20th, 2017
St. Joseph’s Health Centre Toronto, May 4th to 9th, 2017
Mary O’Connor Palliative Care and Hospice Conference, Calgary, Alberta, April 24th, 2017
Hospice Palliative Care Ontario Conference, Richmond Hill, Ontario, April 23rd to 25th, 2017
Gilmore Lodge, Grimsby, Ontario, April 10th to 19th
Deer Park Villas, Fort Eric, Ontario, April 10th to 19th
Wellington Park Care Centre, Burlington, Ontario, February 7 to 17th, 2017
Gallery1313 as part of Toronto Design Offsite Festival, January 18 to 29th, 2017
St. James-Assiniboia and Fort Garry branches of the Winnipeg Public Library, December 6 to 9, 2016
Central West Palliative Care Network Conference, Brampton, ON, November 16th, 2016
Palliative Care Matters Conference, Ottawa, November 7 to 9, 2016
Death Perceptions Exhibit, Wellington County, Ontario, September 16th to November 6th
Northwestern Ontario Palliative Care Conference, Thunder Bay, November 2 to 4th, 2016
21st International Congress on Palliative Care (PAL2016), Montreal, October 18th to 20th, 2016
Library at Village of Tansley Woods, Burlington, Ontario, October 4, 5 & 6, 2016
Art Gallery of Burlington, October 6, 7 & 8, 2016
Saskatoon, St. Paul’s Hospital, Saskatchewan, September 20 to 22nd, 2016
Heart House Hospice, Mississauga, September 2016
North Simcoe Muskoka Service Delivery Centre, Barrie, Ontario, August 2016
Hike or Bike for Hospice Vaughan, June 5, 2016
Hike for Hospice, Doane House Hospice, May 2016
Hospice Palliative Care Ontario Conference, April 2016
Toronto Design Offsite, February 23, 2016
Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Conference, Ottawa, October 29 to November 1, 2015