Care of Bereaved Persons : A Systematic Review

Area of Science:

• Mental Health
• Clinical Psychology
• Public Health

Background:

• Bereavement is a universal experience, often leaving clinicians uncertain about effective interventions.
• Understanding the impact of health care interventions for bereaved individuals is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize the effects of various health care interventions for bereaved children and adults.
• To evaluate the evidence base for different bereavement support strategies.

Main Methods:

• A comprehensive search of eight databases was conducted, supplemented by reviews, guidelines, and expert input.
• Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing interventions with usual care were selected by dual independent reviewers.
• Risk of bias was assessed, and random-effects meta-analysis was employed for effect estimation.

Main Results:

• 169 RCTs evaluated interventions including psychotherapy, support groups, pharmacotherapy, and art therapy.
• Moderate strength of evidence (SoE) supports psychotherapy for improving grief disorder, grief, and depression symptoms in adults.
• Low SoE suggests expert-facilitated support groups and enhanced provider contact may benefit depression symptoms.

Conclusions:

• Psychotherapy offers significant benefits for bereaved adults, improving key outcomes.
• Expert-facilitated support groups and enhanced provider contact show potential for improving depression symptoms.
• Evidence for other interventions, particularly for children and diverse outcomes, is limited.