Marie Curie Palliative Care Research Centre, Division of Population Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.
School of Dentistry, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.
Palliat Med. 2021 Dec;35(10):1985-1997. doi: 10.1177/02692163211043372. Epub 2021 Oct 22.
The COVID-19 pandemic is a mass bereavement event which has profoundly disrupted grief experiences. Understanding support needs and access to support among people bereaved at this time is crucial to ensuring appropriate bereavement support infrastructure.
To investigate grief experiences, support needs and use of formal and informal bereavement support among people bereaved during the pandemic.
Baseline results from a longitudinal survey. Support needs and experiences of accessing support are reported using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis of free-text data.
SETTING/PARTICIPANTS: 711 adults bereaved in the UK between March and December 2020, recruited via media, social media, national associations and community/charitable organisations.
High-level needs for emotional support were identified. Most participants had not sought support from bereavement services (59%, = 422) or their General-Practitioner (60%, = 428). Of participants who had sought such support, over half experienced difficulties accessing bereavement services (56%, = 149)/General-Practitioner support (52%, = 135). About 51% reported high/severe vulnerability in grief; among these, 74% were not accessing bereavement or mental-health services. Barriers included limited availability, lack of appropriate support, discomfort asking for help and not knowing how to access services. About 39% ( = 279) experienced difficulties getting support from family/friends, including relational challenges, little face-to-face contact and disrupted collective mourning. The perceived uniqueness of pandemic bereavement and wider societal strains exacerbated their isolation.
People bereaved during the pandemic have high levels of support needs alongside difficulties accessing support. We recommend increased provision and tailoring of bereavement services, improved information on support options and social/educational initiatives to bolster informal support and ameliorate isolation.
COVID-19 大流行是一场大规模的丧亲事件，深刻地扰乱了人们的悲伤体验。了解此时丧亲者的支持需求和获取支持的途径对于确保适当的丧亲支持基础设施至关重要。
调查大流行期间丧亲者的悲伤体验、支持需求以及对正式和非正式丧亲支持的使用情况。
一项纵向调查的基线结果。使用描述性统计和自由文本数据的主题分析报告支持需求和获取支持的体验。
设置/参与者：2020 年 3 月至 12 月期间在英国丧亲的 711 名成年人，通过媒体、社交媒体、国家协会和社区/慈善组织招募。
确定了对情感支持的高度需求。大多数参与者没有向丧亲服务机构（59%，=422）或他们的全科医生（60%，=428）寻求支持。在寻求这种支持的参与者中，超过一半人在获取丧亲服务（56%，=149）/全科医生支持方面遇到困难（52%，=135）。约 51%的人报告在悲伤中高度/严重脆弱；其中，74%的人没有接受丧亲或心理健康服务。障碍包括可用性有限、缺乏适当的支持、不愿寻求帮助以及不知道如何获取服务。约 39%（=279）在从家人/朋友那里获得支持时遇到困难，包括关系挑战、很少面对面接触和集体哀悼中断。大流行丧亲的独特性和更广泛的社会压力加剧了他们的孤立感。
大流行期间丧亲的人有高度的支持需求，同时也难以获得支持。我们建议增加丧亲服务的提供和针对性，改善支持选项的信息，并开展社会/教育举措，以加强非正式支持并减轻孤立感。
