Who Grieves? The patient perspective

Bereavement support is an integral element of palliative care with families and caregivers having access both prior to and after the patient’s death. Globally, specialist palliative care services potentially provide the most comprehensive bereavement support services. For the majority of people grief is a normal event with only a small proportion (10-20%) of people experiencing persisting grief-related symptoms requiring some sort of professional intervention or treatment.

Aim: This qualitative study aims to explore whether people with a life limiting illness, who are expected to die within the next six months, are concerned about the bereavement needs of people other than their next of kin.

Objectives: The objectives of this study are to: i) To establish the feasibility, acceptability, safety, and practicability of having prospective bereavement follow-up conversations with people nearing the end of life; ii) To gain insights into the patients’ experience of the research; and iii) To determine the acceptability of the study, including recruitment rates and the degree to which these conversations could be integrated into clinical practice.

Who Grieves? The patient perspective (18kb pdf).