Majid Abdul, Suhaff Ajaz A, Teli Bilal A, Rafiq Farhana, Bhat Aijaz
Department of Psychiatry, SKIMS Medical College, Bemina, Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India.
Indian J Psychiatry. 2022 Nov-Dec;64(6):555-559. doi: 10.4103/indianjpsychiatry.indianjpsychiatry_124_22. Epub 2022 Nov 30.
The outbreak of COVID-19 has influenced every sphere and all aspects of life. COVID patients were kept in isolation to curb the spread of the infection; such situations led to mental health issues in patients as well as in their families.
The aim and objectives of the current study were to find the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on grief, death mourning and coping in Kashmir.
For the deeper understanding of the impact of COVID-19 pandemic, both quantitative and qualitative approaches were used. A sample of 89 individuals whose loved ones died (COVID or non-COVID deaths) during pandemic were enrolled with purposive sampling technique. The sociodemographic details of both participants as well as the deceased persons were recorded, followed by semi-structured interview, Brief Cope Scale (BCS) and Pandemic Grief Scale (PGS).
Majority of the participants who lost a relative due to COVID-19 who were males in the age-group of 60 years and above. Grief was found more in males and in relatives whose loved ones died of COVID-19. Coping strategies adopted by the family members whose relative died of COVID more often adopted avoidant coping strategies as compared to non-COVID deaths. Mostly, deaths occurred when the family members were not around. It was highly challenging for the participants to mourn the loss as most of the mournings were in isolation, and there was hardly any support. Most of the participants could not perform last rites which complicated the grief among them.
Current study emphasizes the importance of social support for those who are grieving and need of face-to-face interactions which can never be replaced by speaking over phone or through virtual spaces. However in extraordinary circumstances of COVID-19 scenario, sharing grief, expressing care and love through any mode can be an effective way to help the bereaved individuals to understand that they are not forgotten.
新冠疫情的爆发影响了生活的各个领域和方方面面。新冠患者被隔离以遏制感染传播；这种情况导致患者及其家人出现心理健康问题。
本研究的目的是了解新冠疫情对克什米尔地区悲伤情绪、死亡哀悼及应对方式的影响。
为更深入了解新冠疫情的影响，采用了定量和定性研究方法。采用目的抽样技术，纳入了89名在疫情期间其亲人死亡（新冠相关或非新冠相关死亡）的个体。记录了参与者及逝者的社会人口学细节，随后进行半结构式访谈、简易应对方式量表（BCS）和疫情悲伤量表（PGS）调查。
因新冠疫情失去亲人的参与者中，大多数是60岁及以上的男性。男性以及亲人死于新冠的亲属中悲伤情绪更为明显。与亲人非新冠相关死亡的家庭成员相比，亲人死于新冠的家庭成员更多采用回避应对策略。大多数死亡发生时家庭成员不在身边。对参与者来说，哀悼亲人的离世极具挑战性，因为大多数哀悼都是在隔离状态下进行的，几乎没有任何支持。大多数参与者无法举行最后的仪式，这加剧了他们的悲伤。
本研究强调了社会支持对于悲伤者的重要性，以及面对面交流的必要性，这种交流绝不能被电话交谈或虚拟空间交流所取代。然而，在新冠疫情这种特殊情况下，通过任何方式分享悲伤、表达关心和爱意，都可能是帮助 bereaved individuals to understand that they are not forgotten.（此处“bereaved individuals”未明确翻译，结合前文推测为“失去亲人的人”，完整句子为“帮助失去亲人的人明白他们没有被遗忘”） 失去亲人者的有效方式。
