This study explored the experiences and needs of nine parents who had received hospital-based bereavement support following the death of their child from cancer, in Western Australia. Six prominent themes emerged from thematic data analysis: personal grief, personal coping, concern for siblings of the deceased child, hospital bereavement support, community supports and unmet needs. Parents identified the need for more supportive contact from hospital staff during the palliative phase and following the child's death, early provision of information on how to practically and emotionally prepare for the death of their child, contact with other bereaved parents, and formal grief support for siblings. Areas for future research include exploration of parents' wish to become involved in activities to help others, bereavement support for siblings, the level of contact with the hospital unit that may be therapeutically beneficial, and parental behaviors associated with accessing both hospital and community-based bereavement supports.

This paper provides an overview of the development and evaluation of an educational program to increase the knowledge of hospice and paediatric nurses who support grieving children and improve their attitudes toward death and bereavement. The specific target groups for the project included nurses providing care through community-based hospice services and inpatient palliative care units, as well as nurses providing inpatient and community-based care at a children's teaching hospital. Fifty-nine nurses from hospice, community and inpatient settings participated in three workshops. Results indicated that the workshop produced a sustained improvement in bereavement knowledge among the nurses and an improvement in their attitudes toward death and bereavement.