The Bereavement Evaluation Forum (BEF) is a Special Interest group of the National Bereavement Alliance, with a particular focus on assessment and evaluation in bereavement care services.
Our mission
To encourage best evidence-based practice in assessment, monitoring and evaluation in bereavement care pre and post death; through the development of consistent, robust and credible approaches.
Our objectives
- Provide a representative national proactive presence to influence monitoring and evaluation across the breadth of bereavement care
- Promote equitable service delivery and fit for purpose bereavement care
- Educate and influence service providers, funders and bereaved service users
- Develop the Group as a sustainable resource
Our work to date
Following validation of the Adult Attitude to Grief scale (AAG) in 2013, researchers at the University of Keele initiated conversations about how to promote the wider use of the AAG in assessing bereavement need. These conversations included discussion with the director of CORE (Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation).
A widening of the consultations led to the formation of the Bereavement Assessment and Evaluation Task Group (BAETG) in 2014, a steering group representing a broad span of research and practice interest across the bereavement care sector. Since 2014 the BAETG has:
- surveyed users of the AAG and followed up with training events and the development of a practice protocol.
- undertaken an IT pilot designed to track practice use and client change/development when using the AAG. This is still work in progress.
- provided an occasional newsletter with updates of the BEF’s work.
- set out a wider brief for future activities, to include a range of assessment tools and processes.
- brought together the issues of assessment and evaluation in a strategy symposium in April 2018
- published a guide to choosing and using assessment and evaluation tools in July 2019.
How to get involved
Members of the National Bereavement Alliance will recieve BEF updates as part of their membership. If you are not already a member, you can join the Alliance here.