Dartnall Stephanie, Goodman-Delahunty Jane, Gullifer Judith
School of Psychology, Charles Sturt University, Bathurst, NSW, Australia.
Front Psychol. 2019 Nov 12;10:2322. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02322. eCollection 2019.
Experiences of 15 family members and friends of missing people of a coronial investigation into the suspected death of a missing person in New South Wales (NSW), Australia were examined via in-depth interviews. This study explored participant perceptions of the impact of coronial proceedings on well-being, and views on best practice approaches to families in the Coroner's Court. Transcripts were thematically analysed, yielding six key themes in participant experiences of inquests: (1) Opportunity to be heard, (2) A chance for education, (3) If you are human with me (sensitive treatment and language), (4) Timely investigations, (5) A public and formal court environment, and (6) Coronial outcomes. Overall, families benefitted from opportunities to have input and feel heard, compassionate treatment, and appropriate education about the process and available support services. A detriment on well-being was described when these factors were precluded. Some participants perceived positive outcomes arising from public awareness of cases of missing people, formalities that conveyed respect, and timeframes that enabled further investigation or preparation for the inquest. Others reported distress and trauma in response to significant delays that led to a loss of evidence, intrusive media and unknown persons in court, and unwelcoming, formal court environments. Some participants were profoundly distressed by a finding of death and by the procedures that followed the inquest, emphasising the need for post-inquest debriefing and ongoing support. These findings deepen our understanding of coronial practices, and of measures to prevent harm, that will be instructive to other coronial jurisdictions. Further research should examine family experiences in contexts where there are variable coronial proceedings or procedures that result in legal findings of death.
通过深度访谈，对澳大利亚新南威尔士州（NSW）一项关于失踪人员疑似死亡的死因调查中15名失踪人员家属和朋友的经历进行了考察。本研究探讨了参与者对死因调查程序对幸福感影响的看法，以及对死因裁判法庭中针对家属的最佳实践方法的观点。对访谈记录进行了主题分析，在参与者的死因调查经历中产生了六个关键主题：（1）被倾听的机会，（2）受教育的机会，（3）你若以人相待（敏感对待与语言），（4）及时调查，（5）公开且正式的法庭环境，以及（6）死因调查结果。总体而言，家属从有机会提供意见并被倾听、得到体恤对待以及接受关于程序和可用支持服务的适当教育中受益。当这些因素被排除时，幸福感会受到损害。一些参与者认为公众对失踪人员案件的关注、传达尊重的仪式以及有助于进一步调查或为死因调查做准备的时间框架会产生积极结果。另一些人则报告称，由于导致证据丢失的重大延误、法庭上侵扰性的媒体和陌生人以及不友好、正式的法庭环境而感到痛苦和创伤。一些参与者对死亡认定以及死因调查后的程序深感痛苦，强调死因调查后进行汇报和持续支持的必要性。这些发现加深了我们对死因调查实践以及预防伤害措施的理解，这将对其他死因裁判司法管辖区具有指导意义。进一步的研究应考察在死因调查程序或程序导致死亡法律认定存在差异的背景下家属的经历。
