Use of Health Services and Support Resources by Immediate Family Members Bereaved by Suicide: A Scoping Review

Abstract

The knowledge on health service use, systematic follow-up, and support for families bereaved by suicide remains scarce. This scoping review includes studies from 2010 to March 2022 that investigate the follow-up and support offered by health services, peer support services, and other resources available (e.g., internet-based resources) for families bereaved by suicide. We followed the scoping review framework provided by the Johanna Briggs Institute and performed a double-blinded screening process using Covidence. Data were extracted by four researchers and a thematic analysis was performed to summarize the results. The PRISMA Extension for Scoping reviews was used for reporting results. Of 2385 studies screened by title, 190 by abstract, and 93 by full-text reading, we included 63 original articles of which 24, 29 and 10 were quantitative, qualitative, or mixed-methods studies, respectively. The review shows that we have some knowledge about the need for, and experiences with, health services and support resources for immediate family members bereaved by suicide, but a lack of knowledge about their help-seeking behaviour, patient pathways, systematic follow-up, coordination between services, and long-term outcomes. We need more longitudinal observational studies of health service use and patient trajectories for people bereaved by suicide.

To lose a friend: the relationship between professional help and grief among close bereaved friends after the terror attack, 22 July 2011

“…While the results showed that a need for help at the beginning of an interval was related to a reduction in levels of grief, those who reported a continuous need for help were not found to have the same reduction, but rather a stagnation or a small increase in grief levels. This could be attributed to various factors, including insufficient duration or quality of the help received (Dodd et al, 2019 ; Kaspersen et al, 2022 ). In addition, the results could be explained by avoidance, and consequently the lack of help-seeking behaviour, which may contribute to a slower decrease in grief symptoms (Johnsen et al, 2021 ).…”

“…Following the Utøya attack, many of the bereaved reported feeling misunderstood by their helpers, and that the focus on diagnostics and lack of continuity in the follow-up made the treatment challenging (Dyregrov et al, 2015 ; Johnsen & Dyregrov, 2015 ). Studies have found that helpers often report a lack of time and resources to ensure a continuum of care, as well as inadequate training and competence in addressing complicated grief reactions (Dodd et al, 2019 ; Kaspersen et al, 2022 ). Previous findings from the Utøya study showed that the majority of bereaved friends felt unrecognized as bereaved by both professional helpers and their social network, leading them to feel excluded from the group of ‘entitled grievers’ (Johnsen & Dyregrov, 2015 ).…”

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“…Inkluderer vi kollegaer, medelever og venner i etterlatt-definisjonen blir tallet fryktelig høyt, og de aller fleste voksne vil ha kjent noen som tok livet sitt. I august 2022 publiserte forskere i SINTEF og ved Folkehelseinstituttet en kunnskapsoppsummering av forsk nings litteratur på engelsk om bruk av helsetjenester og andre hjelperessurser blant etterlatte ved selvmord i naer familie (Kaspersen et al, 2022). I det følgende oppsummerer vi noen av hovedfunnene i artikkelen.…”

“…Vår kunnskapsoppsummering (Kaspersen et al, 2022) har vist at man har en del erfaringer med og kunnskap om behovet for helsetjenester og andre støtteressurser til personer som er etterlatt ved selvmord, men at vi mangler kunnskap om deres hjelpsøkeratferd, pasientforløp og koordinering av tjenestene. Vi vet heller ikke nok om hvordan det går med etterlatte på lang sikt, i hvilken grad de havner utenfor skole og arbeidsliv som følge av den traumatiske livshendelsen det er å oppleve et selvmord på naert hold, og ikke minst hvordan vi effektivt kan forhindre negative utfall for de etterlatte.…”

What are the most effective interventions to support children and young people bereaved by suicide in the family: a rapid review

“…Prior to this review, an initial search for secondary evidence (systematic reviews, rapid reviews and scoping reviews) revealed a number of relevant reviews (Andriessen et al, 2019; Bergman et al, 2017; Chen and Panebianco, 2018; Hua et al, 2020; Journot-Reverbel et al; 2017, Kaspersen et al, 2022; Ridley and Frache, 2020). However, only one review (Journot-Reverbel et al 2017) was specific to the inclusion criteria.…”