Adjustment to bereavement and loss in older people

Nurses are now expected to be aware of grief and people's reactions to it. Nurse education emphasises the skills of recognising and supporting people as they experience the overwhelming emotions associated with death and dying. Some excellent books and articles have been written on the subject but it appears that only a small proportion of this material is directly applied to care of the elderly. Child death and other, more unusual circumstances of bereavement have lengthy literature bases but older people are particularly vulnerable to complicated grief reactions. Nurses need to be aware of these complications if older patients are to be cared for effectively as they adjust to the many losses in their lives. An understanding of the various processes and reactions involved will greatly enhance care of older people whenever they receive health care.