Estimating Prevalence of Bereavement, Its Contribution to Risk for Binge Drinking, and Other High-Risk Health States in a State Population Survey, 2019 Georgia Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey.

BACKGROUND: Binge drinking is a pattern of alcohol abuse. Its prevalence and associated risk factors are not well documented. Heavy drinking, on the other hand, has a well-documented association with bereavement. This report uses a cross-sectional, population-based survey to estimate prevalence of bingeing and its association with new bereavement. Bingeing is defined as 4 or more drinks (women) or 5 or more drinks (men) in a 2-4-h setting. For the first time in 2019, the Georgia Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey (BRFSS) included a bereavement item: 'Have you experienced the death of a family member or close friend in the years 2018 or 2019?' METHODS: Georgia BRFSS is a complex sampling survey administered annually. It is designed to represent the 8.1 million people aged 18 years and older in the U.S. state of Georgia. Alcohol consumption patterns are routinely measured in the common core. In 2019, the state added a new item probing for bereavement in the prior 24 months predating the COVID-19 pandemic. Imputation and weighting techniques were applied to yield the population prevalence rates of new bereavement, bingeing, and their co-occurrence with other high-risk health behaviors and outcomes. Multivariate models, adjusted for age, gender, and race, were used to estimate the risk for other unhealthy behaviors posed by the co-occurrence of bereavement and bingeing. RESULTS: In Georgia, bereavement (45.8%), and alcohol consumption (48.8%) are common. Bereavement and alcohol use co-occurred among 1,796,817 people (45% of all drinkers) with a subset of 608,282 persons reporting bereavement combined with bingeing. The most common types of bereavement were death of a friend/neighbor (30.7%) or three plus deaths (31.8%). CONCLUSIONS: While bingeing is a known risk to public health, its co-occurrence with recent bereavement is a new observation. Public health surveillance systems need to monitor this co-occurrence to protect both individual and societal health. In a time of global bereavement, documenting its influence on binge drinking can support the work towards Sustainable Development Goal #3-Good health and Well-Being.

[Nursing Experience of Using Caring Theory in Caring for an Patient in Isolation Facing Bereavement].

A nursing experience using caring theory to care for the grief experienced by a patient with COVID-19 during their period of isolation from June 4 to June 15, 2021 is described in this article. The patient was assessed using physical, psychological, social, and spiritual framework assessments. Data were collected using care, observation, interviews, and medical records. The healthcare problems were identified as inefficient breathing patterns, anxiety, and grief. The patient transmitted COVID-19 to her father, who subsequently died of related respiratory failure. During the nursing process, we used a mobile application (app) to provide the patient with information about novel coronavirus pneumonia to relieve her anxiety. When the patient was physically unwell, we delivered drugs and oxygen, and provided comfortable prone position and breathing training to resolve her low-efficiency breathing patterns. Also, we cooperated with the psychological and spiritual team to resolve the patient's psychological problems, used hand-painted illustrations and words to provide encouragement, and provided information on the hospital's funeral services provider to help complete her father's funeral arrangements to reduce her sense of grief. It is suggested that, in the clinical care of similar patients, nurses should pay more attention to their psychological problems. In addition, nurses may use the concepts of caring theory to integrate a holistic approach, provide patient-specific resources, and accompanying the patient through the process of grief. This nursing experience may be used as a reference in the future care of similar patients to improve the quality of clinical nursing care.

Strategies for Virtual Bereavement Care.

ABSTRACT: The contagiousness of some illnesses (e.g., COVID-19) limits the ways in which families can interact with their dying loved ones who have been admitted to the hospital, especially in the intensive care unit. As a result, nurses have developed culturally relevant strategies for virtual bereavement care for patients and families predeath, perideath, and postdeath. Specific ways nurses can support, communicate, and facilitate meaningful rituals when patients die in isolation are provided in this article.

"The communication I had with him back then is still stuck in my mind." Bereaved families of cancer patients' experiences for end-of-life communication.

PURPOSE: Communication with family members is important to end-of-life care for patients with cancer. It is an interactive engagement between terminally-ill cancer patients and their families through which they expand their mutual understanding to cope with losses and find meaning in death. This study aimed to describe the experiences of end-of-life communication between patients with cancer and their family members in South Korea. METHODS: This is a qualitative descriptive study using in-depth semi-structured interviews. Ten bereaved family members with end-of-life communication experience with terminal cancer patients were recruited through purposive sampling. Data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. RESULTS: A total of 29 constructed meanings, 11 sub-categories, and the following 3 categories were derived: "Offering a space for patients to reminisce and reflect," "Building a bond," and "Reflections on what we need." End-of-life communication primarily centered on the patients, with families struggling to share their stories with them. Although the families coped well, they also regretted the lack of meaningful communication with the patients, indicating a need for support to facilitate effective end-of-life communication. CONCLUSION: The study highlighted concrete communication for finding meaning at the end-of-life for cancer patients and their families. We found that the families have the potential to communicate appropriately to cope with the patients' end-of-life. Nevertheless, end-of-life presents a unique challenge in which families require adequate support. Given the increasing number of patients and families dealing with end-of-life care in hospitals, healthcare providers should be mindful of their needs and help them cope effectively.

Meanings of mourning for people who faced the death of a family member due to covid-19 / Significados do luto para pessoas que enfrentaram a morte de um familiar por covid-19 / Significados del luto para personas que enfrentaron la muerte de un familiar por covid-19

Objetivo: compreender os significados do luto para as pessoas que enfrentaram a morte de um familiar devido a COVID-19. Método: estudo qualitativo, do tipo ação-participante, fundamentado nos pressupostos de Paulo Freire. Participaram 16 familiares, residentes no litoral de Santa Catarina, Brasil. Realizou-se um Círculo de Cultura de modo virtual, seguindo as etapas do Itinerário Freireano. Resultados: os participantes significaram que a vivência do luto do familiar, devido a COVID-19, tirou-lhes a oportunidade de se despedir do ente querido. A pandemia também lhes tirou o emprego, as aulas presenciais dos filhos, encontros, casamentos, abraços e sorrisos. Mas também significaram que trouxe aprendizado, com fortalecimento da espiritualidade e família. Conclusão: o significado do luto permeou inúmeras perdas, restringindo a vivência das etapas do luto. Contudo, houve maior busca pela espiritualidade e religião, com valorização da família e da vida.

Objetivo: comprender los significados del luto para las personas que enfrentaron la muerte de un familiar debido a COVID-19. Método: estudio cualitativo, del tipo acción-participante, fundamentado en los presupuestos de Paulo Freire. Participaron 16 familiares, residentes en el litoral de Santa Catarina, Brasil. Se realizó un Círculo de Cultura de modo virtual, siguiendo las etapas del Itinerario Freireano. Resultados: los participantes significaron que la vivencia del luto del familiar, debido a COVID-19, les quitó la oportunidad de despedirse del ser querido. La pandemia también les quitó el empleo, las clases presenciales de los hijos, encuentros, matrimonios, abrazos y sonrisas. Pero también significaron que trajo aprendizaje, con fortalecimiento de la espiritualidad y familia. Conclusión: el significado del luto ha permeado numerosas pérdidas, restringiendo la vivencia de las etapas del luto. Sin embargo, hubo mayor búsqueda por la espiritualidad y religión, con valoración de la familia y de la vida.

Objective: to understand the meanings of mourning for people who faced the death of a family member due to COVID-19. Method: qualitative study, action-participant type, based on the assumptions of Paulo Freire. Participants were 16 family members living on the coast of Santa Catarina, Brazil. A Culture Circle was held in a virtual way, following the stages of the Freire's Itinerary. Results: the participants meant that the experience of mourning the family, due to COVID-19, took them the opportunity to say goodbye to their loved one. The pandemic also took away their jobs, their children's face-to-face classes, meetings, weddings, hugs and smiles. But it also meant that it brought learning, with strengthening of spirituality and family. Conclusion: the meaning of mourning permeated countless losses, restricting the experience of the stages of mourning. However, there was a greater search for spirituality and religion, with appreciation of family and life.

Palliative Renal Care and the Covid-19 Pandemic.

INTRODUCTION: Palliative care is an approach aimed at relieving suffering, controlling symptoms and seeking to improve quality of life. It must be offered in conjunction with standard treatment for any disease that threatens the continuation of life, such as a Covid-19 infection. DISCUSSION: The bioethical principles and strategies used by palliative medicine can assist nephrologists in the care of patients with renal dysfunction, who face the difficulties of isolation at the beginning and follow-up of dialysis in outpatient treatment, and those who are at risk for a more serious disease progress. Some of them: - a Shared decision making, which enables the patient and family to participate as facilitators in the systematization of the team's reasoning, in addition to respecting the principle of autonomy; - Symptom Management: which should be a priority to ensure relief of suffering even in times of social isolation; - Communication skills: making it possible to alleviate suffering in announcing bad news or complex decisions through communication techniques;; - Bereavement assistance: which in acute situations such as the pandemic, causing unexpected losses, the importance of sympathy from healthcare professionals becomes even greater. CONCLUSION: The principles of palliative care are essential to face the challenges of a planet-wide crisis, which raises human suffering in all dimensions, and which requires the construction of strategies that can keep patients assisted, comfortable and with measures proportional to their clinical condition and preferences.

A Mixed-Method Examination of Emerging and Young Adult Cancer Caregivers' Experiences during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Advanced cancer caregivers in emerging and young adulthood (EYACs; ages 18-35) are an understudied yet vulnerable caregiving population. The COVID-19 pandemic created new challenges for advanced cancer caregivers but also created unique contexts from which caregivers sometimes benefited. To understand how the pandemic may have positively and negatively impacted their caregiving and bereavement experiences, we examined EYACs' experiences of caring for and losing a parent with advanced cancer during the pandemic in comparison to those of EYACs with a parent who died outside the context of the pandemic. Eligible EYACs completed an online survey and semi-structured interview. Quantitative analyses compared responses for pre-pandemic EYACS (n = 14) and pandemic EYACs (n = 26). A thematic analysis of the interview transcripts of pandemic EYACS (n = 14) was conducted. Pandemic EYACs experienced non-significant but higher communal coping, benefit finding, negative emotional experiences, and caregiver strain than pre-pandemic EYACs. Thematic analysis revealed that the pandemic negatively affected EYACs' caregiving efficacy, personal well-being, interpersonal dynamics, and bereavement; shifts to remote work and schooling were reported as benefits. The findings can inform the design of resources to support EYACs whose parents died during the pandemic and who are navigating the healthcare system today.

Late-life suicide in an aging world.

Suicide is an important problem among older adults and in particular older men. Risk factors for suicide in older adults include the loss of a loved one, loneliness and physical illness. Suicide in older adults is often attributed to the development of depression due to bereavement or loss of physical health and independence. However, suicide prevention in old age requires avoiding overly simplistic therapeutic approaches. This Perspective discusses the impact of social determinants of health, cultural narratives and the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on suicide among older adults and proposes strategies for a multifaceted approach to suicide prevention.

Going Virtual: Adapting an Institutional Annual Bereavement Event During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Our institution's annual bereaved family event was modified to a virtual format during the COVID-19 pandemic. While necessary to comply with physical distancing directives, the transition also provided greater accessibility for families. Virtual events were feasible and appreciated by attendees. Future hybrid bereavement events should be considered to allow families more flexibility and accessibility.

"I couldn't": A phenomenological exploration of ethical tensions experienced by bereaved family members during the pandemic.

INTRODUCTION: The COVID-19 pandemic entailed significant changes in accompaniment, end-of-life, and bereavement experiences. In some countries, public health measures prevented or restricted family caregivers from visiting their dying loved ones in residences, long-term care institutions, and hospitals. As a result, family members were faced with critical decisions that could easily lead to ethical dilemmas and moral distress. AIM: This study aimed to understand better the experience of ethical dilemmas among family caregivers who lost a loved one. METHDS: We interviewed twenty bereaved family caregivers and analysed their narratives using Interpretative phenomenological analysis. RESULTS: Our analysis suggests that family caregivers struggled with their multiple responsibilities (collective, relational, and personal) and had to deal with the emotional cost of their choices. Results display three emerging themes describing the experience of ethical struggles: (1) Flight or fight: Struggling with collective responsibility; (2) Being torn apart: Assuming relational responsibility and (3) "Choosing" oneself: The cost of personal responsibility. DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION: Results are discussed and interpreted using an ethical, humanistic, and existential conceptual framework.

COVID-19, natural, and unnatural bereavement: comprehensive comparisons of loss circumstances and grief severity.

Background: Acute grief appears more severe after COVID-19 deaths than natural deaths. Prolonged grief disorder (PGD) also appears prevalent following COVID-19 deaths. Researchers hypothesize that specific loss characteristics and pandemic-related circumstances may precipitate more severe grief following COVID-19 deaths compared to (other) natural deaths. Systematic research on these hypotheses may help identify those most at risk for severe grief reactions, yet it is scant. Objective: To compare loss characteristics, loss circumstances, and grief levels among people bereaved due to COVID-19, natural, and unnatural causes. Methods: Adults bereaved through COVID-19 (n = 99), natural causes (n = 1006), and unnatural causes (n = 161) completed an online survey. We administered self-report measures of demographic variables (i.e., age, gender), loss characteristics (i.e., time since loss, relationship with the deceased, intensive care admission, expectedness of death), loss circumstances (i.e., saying goodbye appropriately, COVID-19 infection, quarantine, financial setbacks, social support satisfaction, altered funeral arrangements, funeral satisfaction), and prolonged grief symptoms. Results: COVID-19 deaths (vs. other deaths) more often were parental deaths and less often child deaths. COVID-19 deaths (vs. natural deaths) were more often unexpected and characterized by an inability to say goodbye appropriately. People bereaved due to COVID-19 (vs. other deaths) were more often infected and quarantined. COVID-19 deaths (vs. other deaths) more often involved intensive care admission and altered funeral arrangements. COVID-19 deaths yielded higher grief levels than natural deaths (but not unnatural deaths). Expectedness of the death and the inability to say goodbye appropriately explained this effect. Conclusions: Bereavement due to COVID-19 is characterized by a unique set of loss characteristics and circumstances and elevated grief levels. Improving opportunities to say goodbye before and after death (e.g., by means of rituals) may provide an important means to prevent and reduce severe grief following COVID-19 deaths. HIGHLIGHTS: COVID-19 deaths have unique loss characteristics and circumstances and elicit more severe grief than natural deaths.Death expectedness and the ability to say goodbye appropriately appear important in understanding, preventing and treating grief following COVID-19 deaths.

Antecedentes: El duelo agudo es más severo después de las muertes por COVID-19 que las muertes naturales. El trastorno de duelo prolongado (PGD, por sus siglas en inglés) también parece ser prevalente después de las muertes por COVID-19. Los investigadores plantean la hipótesis de que las características específicas de la pérdida y las circunstancias relacionadas con la pandemia pueden precipitar un duelo más severo después de las muertes por COVID-19 en comparación con las muertes naturales. La investigación sistemática sobre estas hipótesis puede ayudar a identificar a las personas con mayor riesgo de sufrir reacciones de duelo graves, pero es escasa.Objetivo: Comparar las características de la pérdida, las circunstancias de la pérdida y los niveles de duelo entre las personas en duelo debido al COVID-19, causas naturales y no naturales.Métodos: Adultos en duelo por COVID-19 (n = 99), causas naturales (n = 1006) y causas no naturales (n = 161) completaron una encuesta en línea. Administramos medidas de autoinforme de variables demográficas, características de la pérdida (es decir, ingreso en cuidados intensivos, muerte inesperada), circunstancias de la pérdida (es decir, despedirse adecuadamente, infección por COVID-19, cuarentena, contratiempos financieros, satisfacción con el apoyo social, arreglos funerarios alterados, satisfacción con el funeral), y síntomas de trastorno de duelo prolongado.Resultados: Las muertes por COVID-19 (frente a otras muertes) fueron con mayor frecuencia muertes de padres y menos muertes de niños. Las muertes por COVID-19 (frente a las muertes naturales) fueron más a menudo inesperadas y se caracterizaron por la incapacidad de despedirse adecuadamente. Las personas en duelo debido al COVID-19 (frente a otras muertes) más frecuentemente se infectaron y tuvieron que hacer cuarentena. Las muertes por COVID-19 (en comparación con otras muertes) involucraron con mayor frecuencia la admisión a cuidados intensivos y la alteración de arreglos funerarios. Las muertes por COVID-19 produjeron niveles de duelo más altos que las muertes naturales (pero no las muertes no naturales). La expectativa de la muerte y la incapacidad de decir adiós explicaron apropiadamente este efecto.Conclusiones: El duelo por COVID-19 se caracteriza por un conjunto único de características y circunstancias de pérdida y niveles elevados de duelo. Mejorar las oportunidades para decir adiós antes y después de la muerte (p. ej., mediante rituales) puede proporcionar un medio importante para prevenir y reducir el duelo después de las muertes por COVID-19.

The Utility of the Pandemic Grief Scale in Identifying Functional Impairment from COVID-19 Bereavement.

Background: Meeting the needs of people bereaved by COVID-19 poses a substantial challenge to palliative care. The Pandemic Grief Scale (PGS) is a 5-item mental health screener to identify probable cases of dysfunctional grief during the pandemic. Objective: The PGS has strong psychometric and diagnostic features. The objective was to examine the incremental validity of the PGS in identifying mourners at risk of harmful outcomes. Design: A cross-sectional survey design involving sociodemographic questions and self-report measures of pandemic grief, generalized anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress, separation distress, functional impairment, meaning-making difficulties, and substance use coping. Setting/Subjects: A sample of people bereaved through COVID-19 (N = 1065) in the United States. Results: Fully 56.6% of participants scored above the cut score of ≥7 on the PGS for clinically dysfunctional pandemic grief and 69.7% coped with their loss using drugs or alcohol for at least several days in past two weeks. PGS scores were not associated with time since loss. Hierarchical multiple regression models demonstrated that the PGS uniquely explained variance in functional impairment, meaning-making difficulties, and substance use coping, over relevant background factors, bereavement-related psychopathology, and separation distress. In the final model, the standardized regression coefficients for the PGS were 2-15 times larger than for the other competing measures in explaining each of the three outcomes. Conclusions: The findings underscore the clinical utility of this short and easy-to-use measure in identifying risk of deleterious outcomes across a range of functional and behavioral domains.

Narratives of loss: the impact of Covid-19 lockdown on experiences of loss, grief, and bereavement.

Introduction Restrictions imposed to eliminate the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) virus had significant implications on peoples' experiences of caring for family/whanau at the end of life, and on their own bereavement process. Aim This qualitative research explored the impact of COVID-19 lockdown restrictions on experiences of loss, grief and bereavement in Aotearoa New Zealand. Methods This qualitative narrative research used semi-structured interviews with 10 participants who experienced the loss of a loved one during Levels 3 or 4 lockdown in Aotearoa New Zealand (23 March-13 May 2020). Interviews were coded using NVivo software and inductive thematic analysis was used to evaluate the data. Results Results were grouped into three themes: death experience; mourning in isolation; and availability of support. These themes provide insight into the challenges and difficulties participants faced when they experienced the death of a loved one during a COVID-19 lockdown, and the impact of these restrictions on their experiences of grief and bereavement. Discussion The findings from this research suggest there is an increased risk of prolonged grief among those bereaved during lockdown. Primary care professionals need to be aware of this increased risk in order to identify need and provide access to bereavement support.

Addressing nurses' prolonged grief due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

ABSTRACT: The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in physical and emotional tolls on healthcare workers and caregivers, which have caused prolonged grief disorder and persistent complex bereavement disorder. Highlighting key learnings from healthcare workers' experiences during the pandemic, this article outlines self-care strategies to help nurses better prepare for future healthcare emergencies.

"Untold Distress" - How did the COVID-19 pandemic affect those who had previously experienced an epilepsy-related bereavement?

PURPOSE: This study explores the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown on people with lived experience of sudden bereavement as a consequence of an epilepsy-related death. METHOD: We developed an online survey with fixed choice and open-ended response formats to collect data on grief symptoms and well-being during the pandemic. A total of 275 people bereaved by epilepsy-related deaths between 1980-2020 participated in this study: with 79 participants providing free-text responses for inductive thematic analysis. RESULTS: In total, 84% of participants reported a bereavement following a sudden death of a person aged under 40, with 22% aged 19 and under. The majority (77% of participants) reported they had been thinking more about the person who died compared to before the COVID-19 outbreak and 54% had experienced more distressing flashbacks to the time of death. Additionally, 61% reported more difficulties falling asleep and staying asleep and 88% of participants reported that the outbreak and response measures had negatively impacted upon their mental health. Medication was being taken for a diagnosed mental health condition by 33% of participants at the time of the study. We categorized these negative experiences during COVID in to four main-themes - 'Family', 'Lifestyle', 'Personal Well-being' and 'Health Services and Shielding Populations'. The 'Personal Well-being' theme was inextricably linked to grief symptoms including 'reflection on the death', 're-exposure to feeling', 'grief', 'salience of sudden deaths in the media' and 'inability to commemorate anniversaries and rituals'. These findings were consistent for bereaved people irrespective of the recency of the death. CONCLUSION: This study highlights the impact of the disruption caused by the pandemic on the grief-management of those bereaved by epilepsy-related death. Grief is not static and its management is connected to the psychosocial and formal support structures that were disrupted during the pandemic. The removal of these supports had an adverse effect upon the mental health and well-being of many bereaved. There is an urgent need for a system-wide transformation of epilepsy and mental health services to be inclusive of the needs and experiences of people impacted by sudden deaths in epilepsy and the contribution of the specialist service developed by families and clinicians to meet this gap.

"It's a Living Experience": Bereavement by Suicide in Later Life.

Bereavement by suicide for people in later life is significantly under-researched. Research on ageing and suicide has yet to address the experiences of those bereaved by suicide and how such a devastating loss affects the ageing experience. Objectives: We explored the substantive issues involved in bereavement by suicide and its impact on later life. Methods: This was a co-produced qualitative study. Peer researchers with lived experience conducted in-depth interviews with twenty-four people aged 60-92 years. A phenomenological approach informed the data analysis. Main Findings: Themes described included (1) moral injury and trauma; (2) the rippling effect on wider family and networks; (3) transitions and adaptations of bereaved people and how their 'living experience' impacted on ageing. Conclusions: It is important to understand how individual experiences of suicide intersect with ageing and the significance of targeted assessment and intervention for those bereaved by suicide in ageing policies and support.

Psychosocial factors affecting the bereavement experience of relatives of palliative-stage cancer patients: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide and a cancer death is a major risk factor for pathological bereavement. This systematic review of the literature aimed to identify biopsychosocial and existential determinants specific to the palliative phase of cancer that influence the grieving experience of the caregiving relative. METHOD: A systematic review of the literature was conducted without language or time restrictions. The Cairn, Cochrane Library, PubMed, PsycArticle, PsychInfo, Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection databases were explored. All studies assessing pre- and post-death measures and focusing on friends and relatives caring for adults with cancer in palliative care services were included in the review. RESULTS: Out of 645 articles identified, 18 full text studies were finally included in our systematic review of the literature. Many factors specific to the cancer palliative phase were identified as influencing the bereavement experience of caregivers, with factors relating to: 1) the caregiver (e.g. social support, psychological burden, preparation for loss, action and discussion related to death); 2) the patient (e.g. denial or acceptance); 3) the interactions between patient and their caregivers (e.g. tensions, communication difficulties, and presence at the time of death); and 4) the end-of-life context. The caregiver's grief experience can be described by the following terms: typical and pathological grief, anxiety, depression, guilt, psychological distress, post-traumatic stress disorder and post-traumatic growth, and life satisfaction. CONCLUSIONS:  Many contextual, sociodemographic, dispositional and transactional factors specific to the palliative cancer phase are involved in the caregiver's grieving experience. Avenues for reflection and recommendations are proposed including supporting communication and patient-relative relationships, evaluating the nature and degree of functionality of coping strategies, strengthening the robustness of methodologies, considering impact of COVID-19, and new lines of enquiry for research.