What do Professional Helpers Describe as Important Competence when Supporting Persons Bereaved by a Drug-Related Death

Abstract

Bereaved persons following a drug-related death (DRD) experience significant stress, an increased risk of health-related problems, complicated grief reactions and a risk of higher mortality. Despite the support received from professional helpers being important, research has yet to examine their perspectives to understand and meet the bereaved’s needs and increase the helpers’ competence. Hence, this qualitative study explored professional helpers’ perspectives on essential skills and competencies when supporting bereaved following DRD. We conducted focus group interviews with 29 professional helpers from diverse health and welfare services across six Norwegian municipalities. Reflexive thematic analysis generated three main themes: Diversity of competence, Basic human competence and Balancing act between different considerations. It is crucial that municipal services explicitly define the needs of bereaved persons following a DRD and determine the necessary professional competencies and appropriate intervention levels required.