Bereavement in the Time of COVID-19: Learning from Experiences of those Bereaved as a Result of Deaths in an Acute Hospital Setting in 2020

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in many people experiencing bereavement in challenging circumstances. In April 2020 at a large London Trust, a “Bereavement Welfare Hub” was established to offer support and advice by telephone to relatives and carers of all adults who died as inpatients. Data from BWH call records regarding 809 adults who died at the Trust in March, April and May 2020 were collated. A random selection of 149 call records were examined using thematic analysis. Six themes which influenced the bereavement experiences and grief status of call recipients were identified. These included family and community support, care up to the point of death, communication, care after death and death rituals and customs. Several factors positively and negatively influenced the experiences of people bereaved during the first wave of COVID-19. From these findings, recommendations have been made which have the potential to improve the bereavement experience, particularly during the pandemic era.

Experience of loss and grief among people from Germany who have lost their relatives during the pandemic: the impact of healthcare professionals' support

“…These findings are consistent with the qualitative findings of the "Bereavement Welfare Hub" in London, which highlighted the relevance of good communication with the staff, the relevance of being able to visit the dying relatives in person, the relevance of being supported by the family, and the relevance of receiving bereavement support (26). However, our findings added that relatives' psychological wellbeing (as a precondition) might be crucial to their bereavement process, as well as being overburdened by the pandemic situation.…”

“…Thus, any deadly loss during pandemic-related restrictions might have been painful for the bereaved; thus, the conditions of parting and the support they received were crucial. Qualitative analyses of the “Bereavement Welfare Hub” in London showed that good communication between the ward members and the patient, the ability to visit and be present at death, family and community support, bereavement support, and death rituals and customs positively influenced the bereavement experiences and grief status of those who sought support during the first wave of the pandemic ( 26 ). Thönnes and Noll-Houssong ( 27 ) highlighted that it has not yet been possible to validate the assumed increased prevalence of persistent mourning disorders.…”

“…We differentiated CG and the difficulties of letting go and the perception of loss (because of pandemic-related restrictions) among people who were bereaved during the COVID-19 pandemic. Owing to the relevance of the positive influence of good communication and psychological support by the ward, as well as the respective bereavement support ( 26 ), we also addressed support satisfaction and the wish for psychological or pastoral accompaniment. We studied these perceptions in relation to relatives' satisfaction with the support they received from the treatment/care team of their dying relatives and the possibility of visiting their relatives shortly before their death.…”

“…According to the findings from the literature described above, we assumed that the intensity of normal, non-pathological grief processes (in terms of the burden of grief and loss) is inversely related to both the possibility of visiting the dying relatives ( 9 , 21 ) and the support received from the care team ( 23 , 26 ). In contrast, CG processes depended on several other factors, including feelings of sadness, guilt, social isolation/loneliness, and disruption during the pandemic ( 5 , 9 ), which we regarded as the perception of burden and psychological wellbeing.…”