Virtual Support for Bereaved Parents: Acceptability, Feasibility, and Preliminary Efficacy of HOPE Group

Hospital-based supports for families following the death of a child are rare. Virtual interventions may address key barriers to providing bereavement care, but little is known about their acceptability, feasibility, and efficacy. Our hospital's palliative care program offered a six-week closed virtual support group for bereaved parents five times between 2021 and 2024. Measures were administered pre- and post-intervention to assess changes in meaning making and quality of life. A feedback survey and recruitment, attendance, and retention rates evaluated acceptability and feasibility. In total, 36 parents (76% women) attended at least one group session and provided data. On average, participants attended 4.53 of 6 sessions. Participants endorsed high satisfaction with the intervention. There were no significant changes in meaning making or quality of life. This virtual support group was acceptable and feasible for bereaved parents. Additional research with larger, more diverse samples and more robust designs is needed.