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Prilozi (Makedonska Akademija Na... Oct 2021Grief is a process provoked as a response to different losses, such as death, loss of job, relationship breakdown, some unexpected life events and changes, etc. The... (Review)
Review
Grief is a process provoked as a response to different losses, such as death, loss of job, relationship breakdown, some unexpected life events and changes, etc. The experiences of loss and bereavement are very individual. Even though loss is expected, the person feels traumatized, especially if death is provoked by violence, natural disasters, or war. This pandemic, like other disasters (wars, tsunami, earthquakes, floods, etc.) has provoked intensive reactions of grief, reactions that could persist for years. The core symptoms of grief are described in the ICD-11 and DSM-5 manuals. The term "complicated grief" in the medical sense refers to a superimposed process that alters grief and modifies its course for the worse. Prolonged grief disorder (PGD) is characterized by normal grief symptoms, but these are symptoms that remain too intense for too long of a period. This article is a review of the manifestations and duration of grief in different occasions, and it is based on over 50 published papers, and discoveries in the Medline and Psych-Net databases. Commonly described reactions to grief are: shock, disbelief or denial, a high level of anxiety, distress, anger, sadness, insomnia, and a loss of appetite. As predictors for a high/slow decreasing trajectory of grief process are: female gender, reported symptoms of depression before the traumatic event, and higher scores on avoidance. However, grief is transient, even as we are is in the midst of its clutches. People should expect to fluctuate between moments of sadness and mourning, and moments of acceptance, or even happiness for being alive. Researchers suppose that when a crisis passes; most people will be able to bounce back and move on with their lives.
Topics: Anxiety; Bereavement; Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; Female; Grief; Humans; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic
PubMed: 34699700
DOI: 10.2478/prilozi-2021-0014 -
Nursing Interventions to Facilitate the Grieving Process after Perinatal Death: A Systematic Review.International Journal of Environmental... May 2021Perinatal death is the death of a baby that occurs between the 22nd week of pregnancy (or when the baby weighs more than 500 g) and 7 days after birth. After perinatal... (Review)
Review
Perinatal death is the death of a baby that occurs between the 22nd week of pregnancy (or when the baby weighs more than 500 g) and 7 days after birth. After perinatal death, parents experience the process of perinatal grief. Midwives and nurses can develop interventions to improve the perinatal grief process. The aim of this review was to determine the efficacy of nursing interventions to facilitate the process of grief as a result of perinatal death. A systematic review of the literature was carried out. Studies that met the selection criteria underwent a quality assessment using the Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal tool. Four articles were selected out of the 640 found. Two are quasi-experimental studies, and two are randomized controlled clinical studies. The interventions that were analyzed positively improve psychological self-concept and role functions, as well as mutual commitment, depression, post-traumatic stress and symptoms of grief. These interventions are effective if they are carried out both before perinatal loss and after it has occurred. The support of health professionals for affected parents, their participation in the loss, expressing feelings and emotions, using distraction methods, group sessions, social support, physical activity, and family education are some of the effective interventions.
Topics: Emotions; Female; Grief; Humans; Parturition; Perinatal Death; Pregnancy; Social Support
PubMed: 34073728
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18115587 -
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal... Sep 2018Although grief is a natural response to loss among human beings, some people have a severe and prolonged course of grief. In the 1990s, unusual grief persisting with a... (Review)
Review
Although grief is a natural response to loss among human beings, some people have a severe and prolonged course of grief. In the 1990s, unusual grief persisting with a high level of acute symptoms became known as 'complicated grief (CG)'. Many studies have shown that people who suffer from CG are at risk of long-term mental and physical health impairments and suicidal behaviours; it is considered a pathological state, which requires clinical intervention and treatment. DSM-5 (2013 , 5th edn) proposed 'persistent complex bereavement disorder' as a psychiatric disorder; it is similar to CG in that it is a trauma- and stress-related disorder. In recent years, there has been considerable research on the treatment of CG. Randomized controlled trials have suggested the efficacy of cognitive behavioural therapy including an exposure component that is targeted for CG. However, experts disagree about the terminology and diagnostic criteria for CG. The ICD-11 (, 11th revision) beta draft proposed prolonged grief disorder as a condition that differs from persistent complex bereavement disorder with respect to terminology and the duration of symptoms. This divergence has arisen from insufficient evidence for a set of core symptoms and the biological basis of CG. Future studies including biological studies are needed to reach consensus about the diagnostic criteria for CG.This article is part of the theme issue 'Evolutionary thanatology: impacts of the dead on the living in humans and other animals'.
Topics: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; Grief; Humans; Practice Guidelines as Topic; Psychological Trauma
PubMed: 30012739
DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2017.0273 -
European Journal of Oncology Nursing :... Feb 2023Grief and bereavement is often present among patients and families during courses of cancer. Offering support for both patients and families is essential in the context... (Review)
Review
PURPOSE
Grief and bereavement is often present among patients and families during courses of cancer. Offering support for both patients and families is essential in the context of cancer nursing. Present scoping review offers an overview of existing knowledge, which can be used for inspiration in cancer-nursing. Hence, the objective of this study was to identify understandings of grief and bereavement, which is present in a cancer-nursing context and to develop insight on existing knowledge about nursing interventions targeted patients and their families' experiences of grief and bereavement due to cancer illness.
METHOD
The scoping review is conducted, inspired by the methodology of Joanna Briggs Institute. Sources of evidence are retrieved from a large number of databases and resources.
RESULTS
Twenty-two studies are included in the scoping review. The studies are retrieved from eight different countries. Findings are mapped in nine categories. Eight categories related to nursing care targeted patients and/or families experiencing grief and/or bereavement; One category related to understandings of grief and/or bereavement targeted patients and families.
CONCLUSION
Nursing interventions to support patients and their families during grief and bereavement covers a broad spectrum of interventions. E.g. communication; using artwork; cultural and spiritual care; bereavement care; supporting coping strategies. Different models and theoretical understandings were identified. E.g. The dual process model of coping with bereavement; A Divorced Family-focused Care Model; Family Strengths-Oriented Therapeutic Conversation (Fam-SOTC); and understandings of children's grieving process.
Topics: Child; Humans; Grief; Bereavement; Oncology Nursing; Neoplasms; Nurses; Family
PubMed: 36610290
DOI: 10.1016/j.ejon.2022.102260 -
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal... Sep 2018Societies, including those of humans, have evolved multiple ways of dealing with death across changing circumstances and pressures. Despite many studies focusing on...
Societies, including those of humans, have evolved multiple ways of dealing with death across changing circumstances and pressures. Despite many studies focusing on specialized topics, for example necrophoresis in eusocial insects, mortuary activities in early human societies, or grief and mourning in bereavement, there has been little attempt to consider these disparate research endeavours from a broader evolutionary perspective. Evolutionary thanatology does this by adopting an explicit evolutionary stance for studies of death and dying within the sociological, psychological and biological disciplines. The collection of papers in this themed issue demonstrates the value of this approach by describing what is known about how various nonhuman species detect and respond to death in conspecifics, how problems of disposing of the dead have evolved in human societies across evolutionary time and also within much shorter time frames, how human adults' understanding of death develops, and how it is ultimately reflected in death-related language. The psychological significance and impact of death is clearly seen in some species' grief-like reactions to the loss of attachment figures, and perhaps uniquely in humans, the existence of certain psychological processes that may lead to suicide. Several research questions are proposed as starting points for building a more comprehensive picture of the ontogeny and phylogeny of how organisms deal with death.This article is part of the theme issue 'Evolutionary thanatology: impacts of the dead on the living in humans and other animals'.
Topics: Animals; Biological Evolution; Death; Grief; Humans; Thanatology
PubMed: 30012748
DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2017.0262 -
Community Mental Health Journal Jan 2021
Topics: Adaptation, Psychological; COVID-19; Female; Grief; Hope; Humans; Population Health; SARS-CoV-2
PubMed: 33159631
DOI: 10.1007/s10597-020-00742-0 -
International Journal of Environmental... May 2020Perinatal death (PD) is a painful experience, with physical, psychological and social consequences in families. Each year, there are 2.7 million perinatal deaths in the...
BACKGROUND
Perinatal death (PD) is a painful experience, with physical, psychological and social consequences in families. Each year, there are 2.7 million perinatal deaths in the world and about 2000 in Spain. The aim of this study was to explore, describe and understand the impact of perinatal death on parents' social and family life.
METHODS
A qualitative study based on Gadamer's hermeneutic phenomenology was used. In-depth interviews were conducted with 13 mothers and eight fathers who had suffered a perinatal death. Inductive analysis was used to find themes based on the data.
RESULTS
Seven sub-themes emerged, and they were grouped into two main themes: 1) perinatal death affects family dynamics, and 2) the social environment of the parents is severely affected after perinatal death.
CONCLUSIONS
PD impacts the family dynamics of the parents and their family, social and work environments. Parents perceive that society trivializes their loss and disallows or delegitimizes their grief.
IMPLICATIONS
Social care, health and education providers should pay attention to all family members who have suffered a PD. The recognition of the loss within the social and family environment would help the families to cope with their grief.
Topics: Adaptation, Psychological; Adult; Fathers; Female; Grief; Humans; Male; Mothers; Perinatal Death; Pregnancy; Social Support; Spain
PubMed: 32422977
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17103421 -
Journal of Advanced Nursing May 2021
Topics: Death; Grief; Humans; Pandemics
PubMed: 33606276
DOI: 10.1111/jan.14815 -
Current Opinion in Psychology Feb 2022Although grief is a reaction to a social loss, it has been viewed almost exclusively through the lens of individual psychology and not sociology. In this article, we... (Review)
Review
Although grief is a reaction to a social loss, it has been viewed almost exclusively through the lens of individual psychology and not sociology. In this article, we suggest that more attention to sociological aspects of grief is warranted. We propose a micro-sociological theory of bereavement and grief to complement, not replace, psychological perspectives. We assert that bereavement represents a state of loss-associated social deprivations (e.g. social disconnection). Furthermore, we postulate that addressing social deprivations (e.g. enhancing social connection) will lessen severity of distressing, disabling grief and, thereby, promote adjustment to loss. Future research is needed to test our theory and the hypotheses that follow from it in the service of promoting adaptation to bereavement.
Topics: Adaptation, Psychological; Bereavement; Grief; Humans; Social Theory; Sociology
PubMed: 34333375
DOI: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2021.06.016 -
Current Opinion in Psychology Apr 2022The network theory of prolonged grief posits that causal interactions among symptoms of prolonged grief play a significant role in their coherence and persistence as a... (Review)
Review
The network theory of prolonged grief posits that causal interactions among symptoms of prolonged grief play a significant role in their coherence and persistence as a syndrome. Drawing on recent developments in the broader network approach to psychopathology, we argue that advancing our understanding of the causal system that gives rise to prolonged grief will require that we (a) strengthen our assessment of each component of the grief syndrome, (b) investigate intra-individual relationships among grief components as they evolve over time within individuals, (c) incorporate biological and social components into network studies of grief, and (d) generate formal theories that posit precisely how these biological, psychological, and social components interact with one another to give rise to prolonged grief disorder.
Topics: Grief; Humans; Personality Inventory; Psychopathology; Systems Analysis
PubMed: 34543876
DOI: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2021.08.020