Survey of bereavement support provided by Australian palliative care services.

OBJECTIVE

To determine the prevalence, staffing, methods, timing and allocation of bereavement programs in Australian palliative care services.

DESIGN

Questionnaire-based postal survey.

SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS

The questionnaire was mailed in January 2007 to all 324 palliative care centres identified from the Australian Palliative care national directory 2004.

RESULTS

236 of the 324 centres responded (73%), and 95% of these undertook bereavement follow-up, with similar prevalence in metropolitan and regional areas. Staff from a range of disciplines were involved in coordinating and delivering these services, with nurses taking on these roles in most regional centres. Common types of bereavement follow-up included individual sessions and visits, telephone contact, letters, anniversary cards and memorial services. Most centres (74%) approached the bereaved within 2 weeks of the death, and 83% of centres offered bereavement support to families or "significant others" of all patients who died under their care. Some form of risk assessment for complicated grief was performed by 69% of participating centres.

CONCLUSION

Bereavement care is an integral part of Australian palliative care services. Given the multidisciplinary staffing demonstrated, it is important that those coordinating and delivering these programs are adequately trained and supported. There is a need for further research to guide the development of bereavement support practice.