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Bereavement follow-up: what do palliative support teams actually do?
1Palliative Care Research Group, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK.
Journal of Palliative Care
|January 1, 1996
Summary
Palliative care teams offered bereavement follow-up to 67% of families, but practices varied widely. This highlights a need for standardized training and protocols in family bereavement support.
Area of Science:
- Palliative Care
- Bereavement Support
- Family Care
Background:
- Bereavement follow-up is integral to quality palliative care.
- Established protocols for risk assessment and follow-up exist but their practical application is unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine bereavement follow-up practices for families and carers by five palliative support teams in England.
- To compare the bereavement follow-up provided across different teams.
Main Methods:
- Data collected via standardized records for 320 deceased patients and their families.
- Included patient demographics, carer details, and initial bereavement follow-up information.
- Analysis focused on the offer, method, and reasons for lack of follow-up.
Main Results:
- Bereavement follow-up was offered to 67% of families, with significant variation between teams (10%-94%).
- Nurses primarily conducted follow-up (78%), mainly via visits (50%) or phone (45%).
- Key reasons for no follow-up included unknown relatives (12%), insufficient staff familiarity (29%), and carer location (25%).
Conclusions:
- Significant diversity exists in bereavement follow-up provision among palliative care teams.
- There is a clear need for enhanced training, standardized protocols, and further research into family bereavement needs.
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