Memorialisation during COVID-19: implications for the bereaved, service providers and policy makers

Abstract

Background: The aim of this rapid perspective review is to capture key changes to memorialisation practices resulting from social distancing rules implemented due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Method: As published peer-reviewed research pertaining to memorialisation practices during the COVID-19 pandemic is lacking, this rapid review includes academic literature from the pre-COVID-19 period and international media reports during the pandemic. Findings: Changes to memorialisation practices were under way before COVID-19, as consumer preferences shifted towards secularisation and personalisation of ritual and ceremony. However, several key changes to memorialisation practices connected with body preparation, funerals, cremation, burials and rituals have taken place as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic. Discussion: Although boundaries between public and private memorialisation practices were already blurred, the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated this process. Without access to public memorialisation, practices are increasingly private in nature. A number of implications are considered for the bereaved, service providers and policy makers. Conclusion: Forms of memorialisation and bereavement support emerging during the pandemic that blend the public and the private are likely to persist in a post-pandemic world.

Factors affecting management of corpses of the confirmed COVID-19 patients during pandemic: A systematic review

“… Lay See Khoo 34 Malaysia Journal article Review Necessary guidelines should be provided for all corpse management steps, including the temporary burial of the bodies of unidentified migrants and refugees, especially when dealing with mass corpses. Jennifer Lowe 35 Australia Journal article Review The COVID-19 pandemic has caused changes in memorial ceremonies, such as in contact with corpses, funerals, and burials. These changes are likely to remain in place even in the post-corona area.…”

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Funerals: Experiences of Participants in the 2020 Dying2Learn Massive Open Online Course

“…This has required funeral directors to adapt to new circumstances which can change rapidly by using videoconferencing or livestreaming technology, although this has been inconsistent ( MacNeil et al, 2021 ; Selman et al, 2021 ). For some, the ritual of viewing the body at a funeral home has been substituted with the coffin taken around the streets for people to acknowledge the death ( Lowe et al, 2020 ) as reported in our study.…”

Smiles behind the masks: A systematic review and narrative synthesis exploring how family members of seriously ill or dying patients are supported during infectious disease outbreaks

“…13 Dying is seen as a time of poignancy and intimacy for family, 13 highlighting the importance of bedside vigils, in-person farewells and family involvement in preparing the body. 43 Even when social and familial practices are re-shaped by legal, behavioural and social interventions designed to contain an infectious disease outbreak, 43 family members' desires to maintain these practices do not cease. Disruptions to rituals before and after death and a lack of social support compounds family members' grief.…”