ABSTRACT
The grief and mental health needs of frontline health care personnel became clear in 2020, as COVID-19 ravaged long-term care facilities, causing frequent and unexpected deaths in a short amount of time. By 2022, mortality had decreased, but coronavirus strains remained in adult congregate living, adding to the emotional load on professional caregivers. This study investigated the grief supports and barriers experienced by members of the interdisciplinary team (IDT) who work in nursing homes during the pandemic. A multiple case study using nursing home social workers (NHSWs) as key informants explored the phenomenon of disenfranchised grief in the IDTs. The findings demonstrate that when witnessing and experiencing a pandemic, as well as enduring co-occurring social isolation, survival takes precedence over grief expression. The additional mitigation of bereavement and work overloads during the pandemic presented the phenomena of Trauma-Related Employment Stressors, which include vicarious trauma, secondary traumatic stress, and compassion fatigue as the primary types of burnout. The personal and professional identities of the team members, as well as their relational bonding, all contribute to social engagement resiliency. Potential solutions and future research should involve nursing home policy changes that address staff shortages, emotional and work overloads, compassionate care, and a grief and trauma-informed organizational model. Prioritizing the increase of social work staffing ratios and the levels of required certification can prepare nursing home social workers to best assist with psychosocial recommendations for grief and mental health support for IDT healthcare workers. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)
ABSTRACT
Early initiation of end-of-life (EOL) conversations has been shown to improve patient agency in dying, increase early access to hospice care, and facilitate a dignified death. Despite the benefits of early initiation, EOL conversations do not occur as readily as physicians or patients wish. While medicine is commonly considered both a science and an art, increasing medicalization may narrow a clinician’s focus towards procedures or specialized clinical frameworks rather than a patient’s end-of-life wishes. Since physicians are ambassadors of clinical knowledge and are trusted patient advocates, it is important they facilitate EOL conversations early in the dying process. Patients desire their physicians to convene these conversations. However, physicians are often hesitant to do so. Notable theologians, philosophers, and physicians offer a broad framework outlining the importance of physician-led EOL conversations.
ABSTRACT
The digitalization of modern societies has offered new tools for funeral industries to reach the communities they serve, ranging from using technologies in funeral planning, in commemoration of the dead, or to support the bereaved. The COVID-19 pandemic only pushed this need for online presence of the funeral industries further. We explore the digitalization of funeral industries through the example of Quebec (Canada), where many funeral institutions are regrouped under a federation of funeral cooperatives. We analyze how this influences the delivery of funeral services and allows the development of common services answering various needs of the population (e.g., a funding program for youth funerals, an ecological memorialization program, online grief support). Finally, we discuss how the federation's online presence contributes to its mission, and more largely whether it changes the perception of the industry.
ABSTRACT
Résumé Introduction La COVID-19 a entraîné une réorganisation profonde des systèmes de santé et impacté fortement les activités quotidiennes de la population. L’objectif de notre étude est de comparer les caractéristiques des autopsies durant la période de confinement total français de 2020 par rapport à 2019. Matériel et méthodes Nous avons analysé toutes les autopsies médico-légales réalisées au sein des instituts médico-légaux de Toulouse et de Grenoble du 17 mars au 11 mai 2020 (période du confinement total) par rapport à la même période en 2019. L’objectif principal de l’étude était de comparer le nombre moyen d’autopsies. Les objectifs secondaires étaient : le pourcentage et le type de mort violente, la levée de corps, l’état de putréfaction, le lieu du décès, l’âge et le sexe. Résultats Deux cents autopsies médico-légales ont été réalisées en 2019 et 95 en 2020 pendant la période considérée. Le nombre d’autopsies moyen par semaine était de 25 (SD=6,8) en 2019 et de 12,5 (SD=3,5) en 2020 (p<0,001). Il n’a pas été montré de différence significative sur les différents critères de jugement secondaire en dehors des décès en maison de retraite et des morts violentes par attentat, statistiquement significatifs après ajustement sur les tribunaux et les centres (p<0,001). Conclusion Le nombre d’autopsies a été divisé par deux pendant le confinement, sans modification du profil des autopsies réalisées, ne permettant pas d’identifier une modification éventuelle des décès par l’effet direct du confinement, ni de dégager un profil d’autopsie médico-légale apparaissant comme étant d’une particulière importance durant le confinement. Summary Introduction COVID-19 is a global pandemic causing a major reorganization of health systems and a significant impact on many people's daily activities by lockdown mandates. The aim of our study is to compare the characteristics of the autopsies performed during the complete French lockdown in 2020 to the same period the preceding year. Material and methods We analysed all the medico-legal autopsies performed in Toulouse and Grenoble, two French forensic institutes from March 17 to May 11 in 2020 (period of the complete French Lockdown) compared to the same period of 2019. The main objective was to evaluate to difference in the number of autopsies performed. The secondary aims were to compare the characteristics of these autopsies: violent death, types of violent death, scene examination report, putrefied body, place of death, age, and sex. Results In total, 200 medico-legal autopsies were performed in 2019, 95 in 2020 during the reporting period. Weekly number of autopsies was 25 (SD=6.8) in 2019 and 12.5 (SD=3.5) in 2020 (P<0.001). No significant difference was found concerning the secondary aims except for two criteria with very low population (deaths in retirement homes and attacks). Conclusion Number of autopsies was divided by two during the lockdown compared to the control period year without modification of the other characteristics of the autopsies. These results do not allow evaluating a modification of the cause of death by the lockdown or defining some characteristics of the death appearing to be more important during lockdown.
ABSTRACT
This is part 3 of 6 of the dossier What do we talk about when we talk about queer death?, edited by M. Petricola. The contributions collected in this article sit at the crossroads between thanatology, critical animal studies, and the posthumanities and tackle questions such as: how can queer death studies deconstruct our perception of non-human deaths? How can we rethink human death from a non-anthropocentric perspective? And how can queer death studies approach the COVID-19 pandemic? The present article includes the following contributions: – Beccaro C. and Tuckett M., The life cycle of the agaonidae wasp: death, queerness, and the shattering of the human;– Langhi R., Corpses are remains: queering human/animal boundaries across death;– Véliz S., Tilting points of reference: how nonhuman death narratives unsettle research;– Varino S., (Un)doing viral time: queer temporalities of living & dying in pandemic times;– Pevere M., Recalcitrant by nature: queering death through biological art practice. © 2021 University of Pisa.
ABSTRACT
Objective: To determine the coping level of health personnel with death after having received or not training in palliative care. Method: A cross-sectional survey study. Application of the Bugen Scale as validated for Mexico, in a Likert-scale format, in a sample of 394 health staffers;one participant was excluded for not signing a letter of consent. The survey was addressed to health personnel in the public and private sectors, who were currently practicing medicine and who agreed to answer the survey. A Mann-Whitney U-test was performed to compare responses to the scale. Result: Significance was found in the Bugen scale in favor of those who took a thanatology course. The Mann Whitney U-test between those who took a thanatology course and those who did not clearly favored those who took a thanatology course in all responses. Comparison using the Kruskal-Wallis test showed that there were differences in the responses as compared according to the following categories: sex (p = 0.002), religion (p = 0.023), and adulthood (≥ 50 years vs < 50 years) (p = 0.000) The comparisons by marital status and professional field showed no differences when contrasted. Conclusions: Based on the results presented, we consider that the training of health personnel in the thanatological field should be considered both curricularly and extracurricularly, since it constitutes a tool for personal reflection that positively influences own attitudes, communication and the physician-patient relationship. © 2021 Sociedad Espanola de Cuidados Paliativos. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: This article demonstrates the innovative practice of using a card game to teach participants about Advance Care Planning (ACP) and palliative care in Thailand via Zoom during the COVID-19 pandemic. AIMS: To assess the feasibility of using online workshops to conduct sensitive topics of palliative care and death and dying. METHODS: The interactive online workshops were conducted after imposition of the COVID-19 restriction and national lockdown in Thailand between March and September 2020. The sessions were conducted via Zoom meetings and Facebook secret group. Trained facilitators plus one IT team member hosted each workshop. Participants were given an anonymous post-course evaluation with open-ended written feedback form. Content analysed was used. RESULTS: Eleven sessions were conducted. 103 participants joined the online classes. Participants gave an overwhelmingly positive of the workshops, emphasising on: (i) convenient; (ii) social connectedness during the lockdown; (iii) bichronous element of the activities.