'Good' and 'Bad' deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic: insights from a rapid qualitative study.

Dealing with excess death in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic has thrown the question of a 'good or bad death' into sharp relief as countries across the globe have grappled with multiple peaks of cases and mortality; and communities mourn those lost. In the UK, these challenges have included the fact that mortality has adversely affected minority communities. Corpse disposal and social distancing guidelines do not allow a process of mourning in which families and communities can be involved in the dying process. This study aimed to examine the main concerns of faith and non-faith communities across the UK in relation to death in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The research team used rapid ethnographic methods to examine the adaptations to the dying process prior to hospital admission, during admission, during the disposal and release of the body, during funerals and mourning. The study revealed that communities were experiencing collective loss, were making necessary adaptations to rituals that surrounded death, dying and mourning and would benefit from clear and compassionate communication and consultation with authorities.

Rituals of Containment: Many Pandemics, Body Politics, and Social Dramas During COVID-19 in Pakistan.

Infecting millions of people, causing around two million deaths, and affecting billions of people worldwide during January 2021, the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is not merely one pandemic but many. These many pandemics, which I identify herein, have revealed the overt and subtle entanglements among religion, science, and politics around COVID-19. Building on my current ethnographic research on COVID-19 using purposive sampling and interview guide in Pakistan, and borrowing from various anthropological concepts such as "social drama," proposed by Victor Turner, and ritual, I have developed a concept that I call rituals of containment. With this concept, I extend my previous argument regarding "symbolic ownership" to show a visible "body politics" by demonstrating how religion, science, and politics around COVID-19 are entangled at individual and government levels. This has become observable through the rituals of the Pakistani government of containment to deal with COVID-19. Such entanglements are visible in the case of strategies to tackle infected "viral bodies," as the government has enacted its authority: (1) to bury what I am terming the dead viral body without its beloved ones present; (2) to return or not to return this body to family members in a coffin; (3) or to provide the grieving family with a symbolic empty coffin. These Covidian politics have led to the question: Who in actuality owns the body? In conclusion, I argue that the problem lies in the discriminatory and contradictory rituals of containment of the government, not in using scientific evidence and guidelines.

Death and Mourning Process in Frontline Health Care Professionals and Their Families During COVID-19.

The COVID-19 epidemic has mushroomed globally, disrupting the existence of millions. Under this current pandemic situation, the frontline health care professionals are looped in the clutch of the virus and are relatively more exposed to the patients infected with the disease. In this precarious situation, the frontline health care professionals have contributed their best to provide utmost care to the patients infected with the ailment. The direct involvement of these professionals, however, has taken a toll on their physical health as well as on their mental well-being. Several studies conducted recently have reported that frontline health care workers engaged in direct diagnosis, treatment, and care of patients with COVID-19 are associated with a higher risk of symptoms of depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health issues. Lack of personal protection equipment, unreasonable amounts of work, improper medicines, fear of contracting the disease, and lack of skilled training have interposed the frontline health care workers with unimaginable stress. Due to the widespread outbreak, the death count of the frontline health care professionals has also surged. However, studies exploring the physical and mental welfare of the frontline health care professionals and their families are very few and far behind. To address this aperture, the present paper attempts to highlight the psychological and physical impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the frontline health care professions and to understand the impact of the death of these frontline health care professionals on the psychological well-being, mourning process, and complicated grief among the family members of healthcare professionals. The paper also presents some recommendations for providing psychological support to healthcare professionals and their bereaved families.

Mourning and Management of the COVID-19 Health Emergency in the Priestly Community: Qualitative Research in a Region of Northern Italy Severely Affected by the Pandemic.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic is causing major social changes to which significant psychological effects are linked. During the first phase of the pandemic wave in Italy, whilst there was insufficient information about the phenomenon and the strategies to safeguard the population against it, many categories of people, whose professions required constant contact with the public, were affected by the contagion. Aims: The literature has shown how religiousness can support the management of stress due to diseases and health risks. In relation to this, the current study wanted to investigate how priests managed the early stages of the pandemic. This work, therefore, aimed to investigate the psychological experiences related to the contagion and the eventual death of colleagues as well as the resilience strategies activated by the priests during the process. Participants: The research involved 12 Catholic priests, all male and aged between 42 and 63 years. They came from the same pastoral community in one of the regions in Northern Italy that were most affected during the first phase of the pandemic. Those ministers had been constantly in contact with the faithful of their parishes since the breakout of the virus. Methodology: A qualitative research design was adopted, and in-depth interviews were conducted. The dialogues aimed at investigating the deep, personal and relational experiences of the priests, together with their concerns and the tools they adopted to manage anxiety. The texts obtained from the interviews were subjected to thematic analysis. Results: The areas studied concerned the experiences of the participants during the lockdown, the implications of social distancing and lack of funeral rituality and, finally, the importance of prayer as a resilience factor. Conclusions: In the current scenario dominated by the pandemic, it is significant and stimulating to understand and reflect on the functions and roles of the experiences of faith, particularly the act of elaborating the process of mourning due to COVID-19.

The Use of Storytelling With Grief Reactions in Children During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Children are living through the COVID-19 pandemic and the traumatic changes the virus has had on the structure and schedule of their daily existence. They are struggling to cope with the loss of the normalcy of their lives and the resulting sense of grief. As the loneliness and isolation required by social distancing can worsen grief, it is important to increase communication with children and include strategies to reduce stress and increase resilience. Storytelling is the oldest form of teaching and has multiple benefits, including identifying emotional states, developing a vocabulary to allow self-advocacy, encouraging the use of strategy, and promoting a sense of hope. In addition, models of positive psychological attitude can diminish anxiety and divert attention to a more productive and positive outlook. Stories are powerful tools and convey thoughts, ideas, and values while encouraging purposeful discussion. For children, hearing stories is a rich avenue to gain insight, resources, and approaches to cope with these unprecedented times. It would be helpful to explore the long-term effects on children of COVID-19-related confinement and loss. [Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 59(2), 13-15.].

[Recommendations for the support of suffering, severely ill, dying or grieving persons in the corona pandemic from a palliative care perspective : Recommendations of the German Society for Palliative Medicine (DGP), the German Interdisciplinary Association for Intensive and Emergency Medicine (DIVI), the Federal Association for Grief Counseling (BVT), the Working Group for Psycho-oncology in the German Cancer Society, the German Association for Social Work in the Healthcare System (DVSG) and the German Association for Systemic Therapy, Counseling and Family Therapy (DGSF)]. / Empfehlungen zur Unterstützung von belasteten, schwerstkranken, sterbenden und trauernden Menschen in der Corona-Pandemie aus palliativmedizinischer Perspektive : Empfehlungen der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Palliativmedizin (DGP), der Deutschen Interdisziplinären Vereinigung für Intensiv- und Notfallmedizin (DIVI), des Bundesverbands Trauerbegleitung (BVT), der Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Psychoonkologie in der Deutschen Krebsgesellschaft, der Deutschen Vereinigung für Soziale Arbeit im Gesundheitswesen (DVSG) und der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Systemische Therapie, Beratung und Familientherapie (DGSF).

The corona pandemic has led to a number of restrictions and prohibitions, which in turn place large psychosocial or spiritual burdens on patients with COVID-19, their families and relatives and the treating personnel in the healthcare system. Patients with COVID-19 are not allowed to receive visitors and many hospitals and nursing homes have completely banned visitors. Many support services have been reduced or stopped completely. Necessary treatment interventions for other patients with critical and life-limiting diseases have been delayed or suspended in order to free resources for the expected COVID-19 patients; however, these people need to feel social connectedness with their relatives. Palliative care patients should be exempted from any ban on visitors. Families should be able to visit dying patients even on intensive care units or isolation wards, using adequate protective equipment. Alternative options, such as video telephone calls or via social media should be explored for patients in isolation. Families should also be enabled to say goodbye to the deceased with adequate protective equipment or should be offered alternative real or virtual options for remembrance and commemoration. Health care professionals coping with the exceptional stress should be continuously supported. This requires clear communication and leadership structures, communication training, psychosocial support, but most of all optimal framework conditions for the clinical work.

Preloss grief in family members of COVID-19 patients: Recommendations for clinicians and researchers.

Researchers have long examined grief-related reactions to the diagnosis of a loved one with a terminal illness, including preloss grief (PLG), which is the experience of grief symptoms prior to the loss of a loved one. Families face novel challenges when loved ones with COVID-19 become critically ill-most notably mandated physical separation-and may experience a wide range of PLG responses. This commentary examines the existing literature related to PLG as a means for understanding the psychological impact of COVID-19 deaths, identifies factors professionals can assess for and address when working with a family member of COVID-19 patients, and identifies areas for future research related to COVID-19 and PLG. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).