Examining Compassionate Workplace Interventions for Employees Navigating Serious Illness, Caregiving, Death, or Bereavement: Protocol for a Scoping Review

BACKGROUND: Globally, researchers have documented an emergence of public health approaches within palliative care, leading to the development of compassionate communities, a movement that seeks to build community capacity to support individuals at the end of life and those affected by death and loss. Compassionate communities emphasize a social model of care that complements formal palliative services by reducing suffering, enhancing well-being, and empowering community members through collective action. The Compassionate City Charter broadens this scope to include civic institutions, outlining recommendations for adoption within workplaces and educational settings. However, empirical evidence examining the adoption of compassionate practices within workplace contexts remains limited.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to systematically map and explore international evidence regarding compassionate workplace interventions for employees in a workplace or organizational setting who are experiencing serious illness or are affected by caregiving, death, or bereavement.

METHODS: The Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) framework will guide this review to systematically search and locate published articles reporting primary research. The following five stages will be conducted: (1) research question and objectives development; (2) search strategy development; (3) study and gray literature search and selection across 7 databases, including CINAHL Ultimate (EBSCO), Scopus, PsycINFO (OVID), Web of Science, ABI/INFORM (ProQuest), Business Source Ultimate (EBSCO), and MEDLINE (ProQuest); (4) data extraction and charting; and (5) data analysis and presentation. The JBI 3-step strategy will be applied to determine the search method and article selection. Articles will be assessed for inclusion by two reviewers independently and included if they describe a compassionate approach to supporting employees navigating serious illness, caregiving, grief, or bereavement. The review will use the PRISMA-ScR (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews) guidelines to present the results.

RESULTS: Data collection for this scoping review was conducted between July and August 2025. The extracted data are currently being organized and analyzed, with submission of the final manuscript anticipated in May 2026.

CONCLUSIONS: This protocol outlines a scoping review that will represent the first comprehensive review to explore the international evidence on compassionate workplace interventions for employees navigating serious illness, caregiving, death, or bereavement.