Support Needs and Experiences of People Bereaved by Suicide: Qualitative Findings from a Cross-Sectional British Study of Bereaved Young Adults

Pitman, Alexandra; Souza, Tanisha De; Putri, Adelia Khrisna; Stevenson, Fiona; King, Michael; Osborn, David; Morant, Nicola

doi:10.3390/ijerph15040666

Cited by 44 publications

(76 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…by a relative's suicide. [17][18][19] These studies highlight the importance of services being informed by the experiences of suicidebereaved people. However, parents are potentially one of the most traumatised groups of suicide-bereaved people, and there is less evidence available [20][21][22] about how to support them in the UK.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 98%

Experiences of support from primary care and perceived needs of parents bereaved by suicide: a qualitative study

et al. 2020

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BackgroundPeople bereaved by suicide are a vulnerable group, also at risk of dying by suicide. The importance of postvention support (intervention after suicide) has recently been highlighted; however, little is known about the support needs of parents bereaved by suicide in the UK, and the role played by general practice.AimTo explore the perspectives, experiences, and support needs of parents bereaved by suicide.Design and settingThis was a qualitative study, with semi-structured interviews conducted between 2012 and 2014 in the north of England and the Midlands, with parents bereaved by their son or daughter’s suicide.MethodInterviews explored parents’ experiences of suicide bereavement following the death of their son or daughter, with a focus on their experiences of support from primary care. Interviews were analysed thematically using constant comparison.ResultsTwenty-three interviews were conducted. Three themes were identified from the data: the importance of not feeling alone; perceived barriers to accessing support; and the need for signposting for additional support. Some parents reported having experienced good support from their general practice; others described a number of barriers to accessing help, including triage processes. Primary care was considered to be an important avenue of support but GPs were often perceived as uncertain how to respond. The need for information, signposting to avenues of support, and the helpfulness of group support were also highlighted.ConclusionParents believed it was important that people working in general practice have an awareness of suicide bereavement and understanding of their needs, including knowledge of where to direct people for further support.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 98%

Experiences of support from primary care and perceived needs of parents bereaved by suicide: a qualitative study

et al. 2020

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“…The results of our study are consistent with the literature. Indeed, as underlined by Pitman et al (2018) and McKinnon and Chonody (2014), programs need to be proactive. SBS would like to receive a call because it is sometimes very di cult to seek help.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The above studies and ndings argue in favor of approaching SBS needs proactively (16,18) and of developing speci c programs to address these needs. The majority of SBS will not develop pathological bereavement or other problems.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…In a study exploring the needs of SBS in Ontario (Canada), Gall, Henneberry, and Eyre (2014) described and compared the perspectives of SBS and of mental health workers and found that they complemented each other and helped identify best practices for SBS postvention. Pitman et al (2018), too, demonstrated the importance of addressing support needs from the perspective of SBS. Finally, Séguin and Castelli-Dransart (2006) proposed that the help offered SBS follow a speci c progression as a function of their needs: family support in the rst weeks, support group if necessary, and therapy for di cult or pathological bereavement.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Being Pro-Active in Meeting the Needs of Suicide-Bereaved Survivors: results from an audit in Montreal

Ligier¹,

Rassy

Fortin

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Background: Suicide is a major public health concern. In 2017, the suicide rate in Canada was 11 per 100 000 inhabitants. According to the literature, 1 in 5 people have experienced a death by suicide during their lifetime. The aim of this study was to describe the met and unmet needs of suicide-bereaved survivors and to formulate postvention recommendations. Methods: Further to an exploratory mixed-method audit of 39 suicides that occurred in Montreal (Canada) in 2016, suicide-bereaved survivors (n = 29) participated in semi-structured interviews and completed instruments to discuss and assess potential pathological grief, depression (PHQ-9), and anxiety (GAD-7), as well as health and social services utilization. A panel then reviewed each case and formulated recommendations. The mean age of participants was 57.7 years and 23 were women.Results: Although help was offered initially, in most cases by a health professional or service provider (16/29), 22 survivors would have liked to be contacted by telephone in the first two months post suicide. Four categories of individual unmet needs (medical/pharmacological, information, support, and outreach) and one collective unmet need (suicide pre/postvention training and delivery) emerged. Conclusions: Although provincial services have been developed and offered to suicide-bereaved survivors in the past decade, many dwindled over time and none has been applied systematically. Recommendations for different stakeholders (Ministry of Health and Social Services, coroners, NGOs, and representatives of suicide-bereaved survivors) outlined in this study could be an interesting first step to help develop a provincial suicide pre/postvention strategy.Trial registration: The research protocol was approved by the Scientific Committee of the Montreal Mental Health Institute (November 6, 2018) and the publication of results was approved by its Ethics Research Committee (February 1, 2019), project number 2019-1647.

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“…Bereavement programs do exist but SBS do not always access them. A proactive approach is often needed to offer help to these vulnerable individuals (16). Also, such offers must be repeated at intervals because individuals experience grief differently and may need support at different times (16,17).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Being Pro-Active in Meeting the Needs of Suicide-Bereaved Survivors: results from a systematic audit in Montreal

Ligier¹,

Rassy

Fortin

et al. 2020

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Suicide is a major public health concern that affects some 3,500 individuals a year in Canada. According to the literature, each suicide affects an average of six people. The aim of this study was to describe the met and unmet needs of suicide-bereaved survivors and to formulate postvention recommendations. Methods In the context of an exploratory mixed-methods audit of 39 suicides that occurred in Montreal (Canada) in 2016, suicide-bereaved survivors ( n = 29) participated in semi-structured interviews and completed instruments to assess pathological grief, depression (PHQ-9), and anxiety (GAD-7). Results Mean age of participants was 57.7 years; 23 were women. Although help was offered initially, in most cases by a health professional or service provider (16/29), 22 survivors would have liked to be contacted by telephone in the first two months post suicide. Four categories of individual unmet needs (medical/pharmacological, information, support, and outreach) and one collective unmet need (suicide pre/postvention training and delivery) emerged. Conclusions Although there have been provincial initiatives in favor of suicide-bereaved survivors in the past decade, many dwindled over time and none has been applied systematically. Recommendations for different stakeholders (Ministry of Health and Social Services, coroners, NGOs, and representatives of suicide-bereaved survivors) outlined in this study could be an interesting first step to help develop a provincial suicide pre/postvention strategy.

show abstract

Support Needs and Experiences of People Bereaved by Suicide: Qualitative Findings from a Cross-Sectional British Study of Bereaved Young Adults

Cited by 44 publications

References 45 publications

Experiences of support from primary care and perceived needs of parents bereaved by suicide: a qualitative study

Experiences of support from primary care and perceived needs of parents bereaved by suicide: a qualitative study

Being Pro-Active in Meeting the Needs of Suicide-Bereaved Survivors: results from an audit in Montreal

Being Pro-Active in Meeting the Needs of Suicide-Bereaved Survivors: results from a systematic audit in Montreal

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