Background: Death reporting is a delicate task. The ways in which it is carried out can have a significant impact on both the recipient and the notifier, especially in the event of a sudden, violent, and traumatic death. Empathetic, sensitive, and attentive communication with survivors can represent a first opportunity to support the bereavement process. The acquisition of specific skills for the delivery of the death notification is necessary for the professional who carries out the communication to increase self-efficacy, knowledge, and perception of competence in this area. Objective: To map what the literature has produced on the theme of best practices for the notification of unexpected, violent, and traumatic deaths and to provide guidance for the formulation of appropriate best practices and the development of effective educational programs. Methods: A review was conducted using the PRISMA Scoping Review extension on English language literature published between 1966 and 2022. Results: Starting from the initial 3781 titles, 67 articles were selected. From a thematic point of view, the analysis of the contents made it possible to identify five dimensions: (1) general guidelines in relation to various professional figures; (2) specific protocols; (3) guidelines for notifying death to children; (4) guidelines for notification of death by telephone; and (5) recommendations and suggestions for death notification training programs. Discussion: Death notification is configured as a process, divided into sequential phases. The act of notification constitutes the central phase during which communication is carried out. The communication of death is context-specific; therefore, it should require the creation of specific protocols for the various professions involved in the task, along with targeted theoretical and practical training. Conclusions: The importance of defining specific guidelines for the various professionals and standardized programs of theoretical and practical training emerges. The implementation of future sectoral studies will allow evaluations of the effectiveness of these protocols and programs.

SummaryObjective – To provide a multidimensional description about the pattern of patients recovered in some Psychiatric Rehabilitation Sevices, as emerging from identification of similar groups regarded the total severity. Design and Setting – A cross-sectional survey has been conducted on patients recovered in 4 Northern-Italy Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services. A statistical bottom-up analysis (Principal Components and Cluster Analysis) has been performed. Main outcome measures – Any patient has been evaluated using a questionnaire with well-known rating scales (BPRS-psychiatric rating, Katx index and IADL index, IDS index of comorbidity) together with informations on sex, age, social and economic state, psychiatic history, therapeutic devices and staff involvement. Results – We analyzed 455 patients. 267 (58.7%) male and the mean age is 58.517.9. After statistical analysis, 4 clusters of patients has been found: the first group (106 patients) is younger, descrided as not seriuosly compromised, mostly with psychotic problems; the second (96 patients, most of them woman with diagnosis of demetia) is much older, with serious problems of indipendency and comorbidity. The third (82 patients) and fourth (171 patients) group show intermediate patterns. The level of care requested by these groups has been provided. Conclusions – Our results show the usefulness of sophisticated statistical methods to describe patients recovered in psychiatric rehabilitation services. Moreover, our findings could be useful as good proposal to the people involved in this field, planning an active intervention in this area.