How do Professionals in Municipal Health and Welfare Relate to Bereaved Persons During the Acute Phase of a Drug-Related Death? A Qualitative Study

Abstract

This study aims to broaden our knowledge of how professionals in municipal health and welfare relate to bereaved persons during the acute phase of a drug-related death. A reflexive thematic analysis was applied to six focus group interviews with 27 first responding personnel in Norway. The article describes the complexity and simultaneousness of the professional response. Three main themes were identified: (a) establishing contact, (b) diverse, supportive assistance, and (c) a complex helping context. The analysis showed that experiences from previous encounters and the deceased’s illicit drug use affected many of the professionals’ assessments, and implied an evaluation of the bereaved as not in need of emergency services or psychosocial follow-up. Professionals should be trained to understand drug-related death as a sudden and unnatural death, and to initiate immediate psychosocial crisis intervention. There is a need for further research on the perspective of professionals in the health and welfare services on the drivers and barriers to support (bereaved persons) during the acute phase.

Bereavement support after a drug-related death: Professional perspectives

“…The study results show that pre-existing relationships with the bereaved persons concerned are perceived as an important condition for the provision of help and for professionals' helping initiatives being accepted. This study's findings differ from those of Løseth et al (2022), who explore the experiences of first responders encountering the DRD bereaved in Norway and finds that relationships established before death can obstruct help provision. These divergent findings can probably be explained by the multiple and conflicting positions of help and control (eg of child welfare worker and crisis team member) occupied by some of the first responders in the study by Løseth et al (2022).…”

“…Knowledge about professionals' own experience helping individuals grieving a DRD and the resources they need to respond adequately is lacking (Reime et al, 2022). A recent Norwegian study of psycho-social follow-up immediately after DRD found that first responders often fail to include the DRD bereaved in the provision of services (Løseth et al, 2022). showed that symptoms of complicated grief were highest among those who had lost someone one to two years earlier, underscoring the importance of long-term help provision and the importance of professionals being aware of the symptoms of complicated grief over a longer time span.…”

Barriers and facilitative factors in the provision of first-responder services to persons bereaved following a drug-related death: A qualitative study

“…Previous research shows that the bereaved experience complex help systems (Løseth et al, 2022; Templeton, Valentine, et al, 2017; Valentine et al, 2018). Attending to sudden and unnatural deaths requires the provision of services affiliated with various professions and institutional divisions, including medical first response, police investigation, care of the dead body and follow-up for the bereaved.…”

“…A recent study has shown that first-responder professionals are essential in making referrals for further follow-up in the acute phase (1–4 weeks after death) in the municipalities (Løseth et al, 2022). In line with Kalkman (2020), the study also showed that establishing contact could be challenging because of the restricted timeframe and complex organisational premises, as in ordinary frontline work (Løseth et al, 2022). It is of vital importance to obtain more research-based knowledge from first-attending professional helpers in the acute phase in order to improve the services for psychosocial follow-up for those bereaved by a DRD.…”

“…Members of the crisis teams usually have their ordinary work elsewhere in the organisation, e.g., in mental health, child welfare or police services. A recent study has shown that first-responder professionals are essential in making referrals for further follow-up in the acute phase (1–4 weeks after death) in the municipalities (Løseth et al, 2022). In line with Kalkman (2020), the study also showed that establishing contact could be challenging because of the restricted timeframe and complex organisational premises, as in ordinary frontline work (Løseth et al, 2022).…”