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Psychooncology 2022 Jun 20. Epub 2022 Jun 20.

Department of Head and Neck-Endocrine Oncology, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL, USA.

Objective: This study aimed to describe considerations for developing supportive care interventions targeted to head and neck cancer (HNC) survivors.

Methods: One-time semi-structured interviews (N=33) were conducted with HNC survivors who had recently finished treatment (n=20) and HNC providers (e.g. Read More

Eur J Psychotraumatol 2022 31;13(1):2079874. Epub 2022 May 31.

Shanghai Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Psychological Crisis Intervention, Affiliated Mental Health Center (ECNU), School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.

Background: In China, bereaved parents who have lost their only child are known as Shidu parents, and they tend to present high levels of prolonged grief reactions. To date, a widespread focus has been placed on positive social support, while potential negative experiences have been relatively neglected. Additionally, the role of social support from different sources (i. Read More

Animals (Basel) 2022 Jun 3;12(11). Epub 2022 Jun 3.

Pets Are Wonderful Support/Shanti Project, San Francisco, CA 94109, USA.

Long-term HIV/AIDS survivors responded online concerning their experiences during the AIDS and COVID pandemics. Recruited from web-based organizations for AIDS survivors, 147 answered questions on: frequency of experiencing stigma, isolation, aloneness, or grief/sadness; pet ownership; and sources of human support during each pandemic. Conditional inference trees were run to identify relevant demographic factors. Read More

Int J Stroke 2022 May 26:17474930221104908. Epub 2022 May 26.

Psychology Programme, Nanyang Technological University Singapore, Singapore 595990.

Background: Stroke compromises the quality of life and wellbeing of stroke survivors and families as a whole. The unexpected caregiving responsibilities often cause psychological distress, overwhelming emotions, living losses and grief, and relational conflicts with stroke survivors. Despite the increasing research to better understand their needs, empirically sound and holistic psychosocial interventions for stroke caregivers are lacking. Read More

Rehabil Psychol 2022 May 19. Epub 2022 May 19.

Department of Rehabilitation Medicine.

Objective: To explore health care professionals' perceptions of ideal strategies for providers to use in care provision to help individuals with spinal cord injuries (SCI) deal with injury-related grief and loss.

Method: This study used a descriptive qualitative design using semistructured interviews with 15 SCI health providers and thematic analysis.

Results: The sample included interprofessional health providers who provided SCI care for an average of 10. Read More

Omega (Westport) 2022 May 12:302228221096565. Epub 2022 May 12.

Population Health, 1649Curtin University, Perth, WA, Australia.

Bereavement is commonly experienced by students in higher education and is associated with negative health and academic consequences. We conducted a systematic review of the literature to identify how grief affects students in higher education and the types of support they seek and/or find beneficial. A search of Health Collection, Medline, CINAHL Plus, Web of Science, Taylor and Francis online, ProQuest, and Open Grey resulted in 30 articles that met inclusion criteria. Read More

Omega (Westport) 2022 May 12:302228221097297. Epub 2022 May 12.

Inclu-Inclusive Schools, Tel Aviv, Israel.

The educational staff that meets the children at school struggles to cope with the death of a child, and often avoids talking with them about the death and their sense of loss. This way of coping is complicated in the case of grief among children with special needs, called "disenfranchised grief ". The aim of this qualitative study was to examine the experience and the perceptions of the educational staff in schools for special education and to assess their way of coping, support and care they employ following the death of a student. Read More

Am J Perinatol 2022 May 9. Epub 2022 May 9.

Evanston Hospital, NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston, Illinois.

Objective:  The aim of this study was to examine bereavement support for siblings of patients who die in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) given the adverse effects of unprocessed grief and the paucity of information on children whose newborn siblings die STUDY DESIGN:  This was an anonymous online original survey assessing pre-COVID-19 pandemic bereavement services for NICU families, clinicians' attitudes toward support interventions, challenges, and center characteristics. In spring 2020, nurse managers at 81 U.S. Read More

Creat Nurs 2022 Apr;28(2):82-87

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and Two-Spirit (LGBTQI2S) older adults face barriers to quality health care, often because practitioners misunderstand the unique health needs of this population. Education is essential to support nurses in maintaining culturally safe practice. , a virtual simulation developed as an educational resource to address this need, focuses on an interaction between an older gay adult and a nurse during a health-care encounter, exploring the use of appropriate terminology, personal assumptions, biases, and key concepts related to heterosexism and to grief. Read More

J Patient Exp 2022 27;9:23743735221089697. Epub 2022 Apr 27.

Associate Professor of child and adolescence Psychiatry, Golestan Research Center of Psychiatry (GRCP), Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Gorgan, Iran.

The grief caused by loved ones' death causes grief is a global phenomenon. The Covid-19 pandemic caused significant changes in human lifestyles and the experience of grief. The purpose of the present study was to compare grief experiences in the deceased's relatives caused by Covid-19 and non-Covid-19. Read More

BMC Palliat Care 2022 Apr 29;21(1):59. Epub 2022 Apr 29.

School of Social Sciences; School of Computer Science and Engineering; Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore.

Background: Narrative e-Writing Intervention (NeW-I) is a novel psycho-socio-spiritual intervention which aims to bridge gaps in paediatric palliative care by providing anticipatory grief support to parent-caregivers who are looking after their child with a chronic life-threatening illness in Singapore. This is done via a therapist-facilitated smartphone app that focuses on strengths and meaning derived from parents' caregiving journey. NeW-I is empirically informed by an international systematic review and a Singapore-based qualitative inquiry on the lived experience of parental bereavement and supported by anticipatory grief interventions literature for improving the holistic well-being for parent-caregivers of seriously ill children. Read More

Healthcare (Basel) 2022 Mar 31;10(4). Epub 2022 Mar 31.

Katharinen Hospiz am Park, 24937 Flensburg, Germany.

Last Aid courses (LAC) have been established in 20 countries in Europe, Australia, and America to improve the public discourse about death and dying and to empower people to contribute to end-of-life care in the community. A mixed-methods approach was used to investigate the views of LAC participants about the course and cultural differences in relation to care and nursing at the end of life in the border region of Germany and Denmark. One-day workshops were held, including Last Aid courses in German and Danish, focus group interviews, and open discussions by the participants. Read More

Front Psychiatry 2022 4;13:866269. Epub 2022 Apr 4.

National DNA Program for Unidentified and Missing Persons, Australian Federal Police, Canberra, ACT, Australia.

The trauma of having a family member missing is commonly described as an ambiguous loss where the finality of the loss is not realized, as is experienced with a death. There is uncertainty due to the trauma of the absence and subsequent police investigation, leading to physical and emotional impacts for the aftercare of those left behind. There are 850 unidentified human remains and 2,600 long-term missing persons cases in Australia. Read More

Front Psychol 2022 25;13:862347. Epub 2022 Mar 25.

School of Health Sciences of Polytechnic of Leiria, Leiria, Portugal.

Background: In Palliative Care (PC), family and close people are an essential part of provision of care. They assume highly complex tasks for which they are not prepared, with considerable physical, psychological, social and economic impact. Informal Caregivers (ICs) often falter in the final stage of life and develop distress, enhancing emotional burden and complicated grief. Read More

BMJ Open 2022 04 8;12(4):e057767. Epub 2022 Apr 8.

School of Health Sciences, Polytechnic Institute of Leiria, Leiria, Portugal.

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant disruptions to daily social routines and to the lived experience of bereaved families. This article outlines the protocol for a scoping review of published studies to evaluate psychosocial and psychotherapeutic interventions intended to help family carers adjust to grief, loss and bereavement due to COVID-19. This review addresses one broad research question: 'What do we know about bereavement support interventions for family carers of COVID-19 victims?'

Methods And Analysis: The seminal framework by Arksey and O'Malley will guide the review process, which will cover both the qualitative and quantitative scientific literature on grief support during COVID-19. Read More

PLoS One 2022 7;17(4):e0265284. Epub 2022 Apr 7.

EPIUnit-Instituto de Saúde Pública, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal.

As a global threat, the COVID-19 pandemic has been an important factor in increasing death rate worldwide. As the virus spreads across international borders, it causes severe illness, death, and disruptions in our daily lives. Death and dying rituals and customs aid bereaved people in overcoming their grief. Read More

Sci Rep 2022 04 6;12(1):5746. Epub 2022 Apr 6.

Wal-Yan Respiratory Research Centre, Telethon Kids Institute, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia.

Diagnosis of chronic disease in a child can result in unresolved grief (UG) in parents. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of psychological insight-oriented therapy (IOT) as a treatment for UG compared to disease related education in parents of children with cystic fibrosis (CF). Sequence of delivery, first IOT then disease related education (or vice versa) was also examined, to let all participants experience both interventions. Read More

Curr Oncol 2022 02 27;29(3):1461-1474. Epub 2022 Feb 27.

Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5T 1R8, Canada.

Health professionals working in oncology face the challenge of a stressful work environment along with impacts of providing care to those suffering from a life-threatening illness and encountering high levels of patient loss. Longitudinal exposure to loss and suffering can lead to grief, which over time can lead to the development of compassion fatigue (CF). Prevalence rates of CF are significant, yet health professionals have little knowledge on the topic. Read More

Fam Med Community Health 2022 03;10(1)

Department of Nursing, Tenri Health Care University, Tenri, Japan.

Objective: Severe grief adversely affects the health of bereaved families, potentially burdening medical and community health services. Interventions for effective community health maintenance must identify the people likely to face severe effects of bereavement. The present study identified characteristics of mourners who experience severe grief within a year of bereavement to confirm whether this grief increased their reliance on Japanese medical and social services. Read More

Br J Community Nurs 2022 Mar;27(3):114-117

Assistant Professor, Nursing and Midwifery Care Research Center, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran, and Spiritual Health Group, Research Center of Quran, Hadith and Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

The diagnosis of potentially fatal diseases, such as COVID-19, may cause many critical reactions in dying patients and their relatives. Grief and fear of anticipatory death are natural, especially in the case of COVID-19. Although several studies have been conducted on anticipatory grief (AG) caused by cancer and dementia, the outbreak of COVID-19 could potentially intensify the AG rate among dying patients, their families and healthcare professionals. Read More

JAMA Netw Open 2022 03 1;5(3):e221245. Epub 2022 Mar 1.

Department of Global Pediatric Medicine, St Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee.

Importance: The World Health Organization (WHO) designates early integration of palliative care as an ethical responsibility in the treatment of children with serious illness. Although structural barriers may influence provision of pediatric palliative care (PPC) for children with cancer in resource-limited settings, underlying physician perceptions may also impede early integration of PPC in cancer care.

Objective: To investigate perceptions among physicians in Latin America about the integration of palliative care for children with cancer. Read More

PLoS One 2022 28;17(2):e0264497. Epub 2022 Feb 28.

Department of Clinical Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.

Non-fatal traffic accidents may give rise to mental health problems, including posttraumatic stress (PTS) and depression. Clinical evidence suggests that victims may also experience grief reactions associated with the sudden changes and losses caused by such accidents. The aim of this study was to examine whether there are unique patterns of symptoms of PTS, depression, and grief among victims of non-fatal traffic accidents. Read More

Int J Environ Res Public Health 2022 02 21;19(4). Epub 2022 Feb 21.

Institute of Psychology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, 1064 Budapest, Hungary.

Background: Climate change is one of the greatest challenges of the 21st century and it can affect mental health either directly through the experience of environmental traumas or indirectly through the experience of emotional distress and anxiety about the future. However, it is not clear what possible subtypes of the emerging "psychoterratic" syndromes such as eco-anxiety, eco-guilt, and eco-grief exist, how much distress they may cause, and to what extent they facilitate ecofriendly behavior.

Methods: We analyzed semi-structured interviews (N = 17) focusing on the thoughts, emotions, and behaviors related to climate change by using a combination of inductive and deductive qualitative methods. Read More

J Gen Intern Med 2022 Feb 22. Epub 2022 Feb 22.

Department of Medicine, Yas Clinic Group, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Background: Dealing with death and dying is one of the most common sources of work-related stress for medical trainees. Research suggests that the degree of psychological distress that students and residents feel around providing care for terminally ill patients generally decreases as training progresses. However, there is a dearth of literature that directly addresses how trainees learn to manage emotions and process grief when patients die. Read More

Pastoral Psychol 2022 15;71(2):173-185. Epub 2022 Feb 15.

Department of Philosophy, Sociology, Education and Applied Psychology (FISPPA), University of Padova, Padova, Italy.

Spirituality may be a key factor in reducing the negative psychological effects of traumatic events and a means by which the experience of grief can be processed. The objective of the present research is to assess whether and how spirituality provided concrete support in those who lost a loved one during the COVID-19 pandemic. The participants are 8 people from the most affected cities in northern Italy. Read More

Palliat Care Soc Pract 2022 15;16:26323524221076511. Epub 2022 Feb 15.

Scottish Partnership for Palliative Care, Edinburgh, UK.

Families, friends and communities have an important role to play in providing informal support when someone is faced with deteriorating health, caring responsibilities, death or bereavement. However, people can lack the confidence, skills and opportunities to offer this support. Public education is an example of a public health approach to palliative care that can help to develop individual skills and knowledge relating to these issues. Read More

J Midwifery Womens Health 2022 Feb 15. Epub 2022 Feb 15.

Department of Nursing, Physiotherapy and Medicine, University of Almería, Almería, Spain.

Introduction: Perinatal loss is a traumatic event for women with negative consequences for their well-being and mental health. After perinatal loss, some women choose to not suppress lactation and to donate their breast milk. Donating milk can be a grief ritual to cope with the loss. Read More

Women Birth 2022 Jan 31. Epub 2022 Jan 31.

Centre for Midwifery, Child and Family Health; University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Australia.

Problem: The health of women is dependent on midwifery workforce stability. Retaining new midwives is paramount, however without support, the early career can be a vulnerable time for midwives.

Background: Midwives care for women who experience poor perinatal outcomes like stillbirth and neonatal death. Read More