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An exploration of bereavement intervention in palliative/hospice care programming

University of British Columbia

Bereavement intervention is subsumed within palliative programme philosophy which encompasses the family as the unit of care and provides a continuum of care that extends beyond the death of a family member. There is no available research on the effect of post-bereavement intervention within palliative programming, and very limited research exists that evaluates the effect of intervention on bereavement outcome. This exploratory study endeavors to differentiate bereavement outcome between two populations having palliative/hospice program support but only one choosing to participate in bereavement follow-up. A mixed strategy of quantitative and grounded theory approaches provided an expanded analysis through which meaning structures and time/process parameters for grieving individuals were explored. The study extended from idiosyncratic data into the realm of larger systemic interactions. An important finding was that the amount of time for preparation for the death of a family member is crucial. Other mitigating factors influencing the grief outcome were social support, network viability, and age.

Text

2010-09-27

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http://hdl.handle.net/2429/28712

Social Work

University of British Columbia

Graduate