Grief During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Considerations for Palliative Care Providers

doi:10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2020.04.012

. 2020 Jul;60(1):e70-e76.

doi: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2020.04.012. Epub 2020 Apr 13.

Grief During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Considerations for Palliative Care Providers

Cara L Wallace¹, Stephanie P Wladkowski², Allison Gibson³, Patrick White⁴

Affiliations

¹ School of Social Work, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, Missouri, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].
² School of Social Work, Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, Michigan, USA.
³ College of Social Work, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, USA.
⁴ Division of Palliative Medicine, Department of Medicine, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, USA.

PMID: 32298748
PMCID: PMC7153515
DOI: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2020.04.012

Grief During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Considerations for Palliative Care Providers

Cara L Wallace et al. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2020 Jul.

. 2020 Jul;60(1):e70-e76.

doi: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2020.04.012. Epub 2020 Apr 13.

Authors

Cara L Wallace¹, Stephanie P Wladkowski², Allison Gibson³, Patrick White⁴

Affiliations

¹ School of Social Work, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, Missouri, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].
² School of Social Work, Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, Michigan, USA.
³ College of Social Work, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, USA.
⁴ Division of Palliative Medicine, Department of Medicine, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, USA.

PMID: 32298748
PMCID: PMC7153515
DOI: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2020.04.012

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic is anticipated to continue spreading widely across the globe throughout 2020. To mitigate the devastating impact of COVID-19, social distancing and visitor restrictions in health care facilities have been widely implemented. Such policies and practices, along with the direct impact of the spread of COVID-19, complicate issues of grief that are relevant to medical providers. We describe the relationship of the COVID-19 pandemic to anticipatory grief, disenfranchised grief, and complicated grief for individuals, families, and their providers. Furthermore, we provide discussion regarding countering this grief through communication, advance care planning, and self-care practices. We provide resources for health care providers, in addition to calling on palliative care providers to consider their own role as a resource to other specialties during this public health emergency.

Keywords: COVID-19; Grief; advance care planning; communication; end of life; loss; self-care.

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References

1. Worden J.W. 5th ed. Springer Publishing Company, LLC; New York, NY: 2018. Grief Counseling and Grief Therapy.
1. Shore J.C., Gelber M.W., Koch L.M., Sower E. Anticipatory grief: an evidence-based approach. J Hosp Palliat Nurs. 2016;18:15–19.
1. Katz J., Sanger-Katz M. Coronavirus deaths by U.S. State and country over time: daily tracker. The New York Times. 2020. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/03/21/upshot/coronavirus-deaths... Available from.
1. Otani H., Yoshida S., Morita T. Meaningful communication before death, but not present at the time of death itself, is associated with better outcomes on measures of depression and complicated grief among bereaved family members of cancer patients. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2017;54:273–279. - PubMed
1. Romero M.M., Ott C.H., Kelber S.T. Predictors of grief in bereaved family caregivers of person's with Alzheimer's disease: a prospective study. Death Stud. 2014;38:395–403. - PubMed

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[1] Worden J.W. 5th ed. Springer Publishing Company, LLC; New York, NY: 2018. Grief Counseling and Grief Therapy.

[2] Worden J.W. 5th ed. Springer Publishing Company, LLC; New York, NY: 2018. Grief Counseling and Grief Therapy.

[3] Shore J.C., Gelber M.W., Koch L.M., Sower E. Anticipatory grief: an evidence-based approach. J Hosp Palliat Nurs. 2016;18:15–19.

[4] Shore J.C., Gelber M.W., Koch L.M., Sower E. Anticipatory grief: an evidence-based approach. J Hosp Palliat Nurs. 2016;18:15–19.

[5] Katz J., Sanger-Katz M. Coronavirus deaths by U.S. State and country over time: daily tracker. The New York Times. 2020. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/03/21/upshot/coronavirus-deaths... Available from.

[6] Katz J., Sanger-Katz M. Coronavirus deaths by U.S. State and country over time: daily tracker. The New York Times. 2020. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/03/21/upshot/coronavirus-deaths... Available from.

[7] Otani H., Yoshida S., Morita T. Meaningful communication before death, but not present at the time of death itself, is associated with better outcomes on measures of depression and complicated grief among bereaved family members of cancer patients. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2017;54:273–279. - PubMed

[8] Otani H., Yoshida S., Morita T. Meaningful communication before death, but not present at the time of death itself, is associated with better outcomes on measures of depression and complicated grief among bereaved family members of cancer patients. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2017;54:273–279. - PubMed

[9] Romero M.M., Ott C.H., Kelber S.T. Predictors of grief in bereaved family caregivers of person's with Alzheimer's disease: a prospective study. Death Stud. 2014;38:395–403. - PubMed

[10] Romero M.M., Ott C.H., Kelber S.T. Predictors of grief in bereaved family caregivers of person's with Alzheimer's disease: a prospective study. Death Stud. 2014;38:395–403. - PubMed

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Grief During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Considerations for Palliative Care Providers

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Grief During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Considerations for Palliative Care Providers

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