Identifying Indigenous People's Grieving and Funeral Practices as Components for Establishing a Grief Support...

Area of Science:

• Cultural Anthropology
• Indigenous Studies
• Mental Health Nursing

Background:

• Grieving and funeral practices are integral to indigenous cultures.
• A lack of integrative literature reviews on these practices necessitates a comprehensive overview.
• Existing studies highlight the need for culturally sensitive grief support frameworks for indigenous populations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct a literature review identifying existing components of indigenous peoples' grieving and funeral practices.
• To provide a comprehensive overview to guide the establishment of indigenous grief support frameworks.

Main Methods:

• An integrative literature review approach was employed.
• Thematic analysis of concepts related to indigenous grieving and funeral practices.
• A comprehensive literature search and analysis using the CADIMA webtool.

Main Results:

• Fourteen articles reporting on indigenous grieving and funeral practices were included.
• The review described practices from 18 different indigenous groups.
• Identified commonalities and unique aspects of grieving and funeral practices across indigenous groups.

Conclusions:

• Indigenous peoples exhibit specific grieving and funeral practices, varying between and within groups.
• Knowledge of these practices is crucial for mental health nurse specialists to provide culturally sensitive care.
• Recommendations include developing a grief support framework and incorporating indigenous cultural content into mental health training.