Bereavement support following sudden and unexpected death: guidelines for care

Dealing with families who have suffered a sudden and unexpected death is a skill that may be needed by any paediatrician. Offering a bereavement follow up meeting to such families is part of accepted practice and is perceived to be of value in helping the family to come to terms with the loss. Unfor...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Archives of disease in childhood 2002-07, Vol.87 (1), p.36-39
Main Authors: Cook, P, White, D K, Ross-Russell, R I
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
A&E
accident and emergency
Adolescent
Bereavement
Bereavement in children
Biological and medical sciences
Care and treatment
Case Studies
Child, Preschool
Childhood bereavement
Childhood post-traumatic stress disorder
Cognitive Processes
Communication
Coping
Counseling
Death
Death, Sudden
Families & family life
Family (Sociological Unit)
Family Health
Female
general practitioner
Grief
Hospitals
Humans
Intensive care
Intensive Care Units, Pediatric
Male
Medical sciences
Meetings
Mental Disorders - diagnosis
Miscellaneous
Opportunities
paediatric intensive care unit
Parents - psychology
Personal Practice
Physicians
PICU
Post-traumatic stress disorder in children
Professional-Family Relations
Psychological aspects
Public health. Hygiene
Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine
Referral
Social Support
Social Support Groups
Studies
Teaching Methods
Time Factors
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Summary:Dealing with families who have suffered a sudden and unexpected death is a skill that may be needed by any paediatrician. Offering a bereavement follow up meeting to such families is part of accepted practice and is perceived to be of value in helping the family to come to terms with the loss. Unfortunately, there is very little guidance on the objectives for such a meeting, or the training required to help staff conduct such meetings. The nature of the work on a paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) means that staff have a greater experience of handling families in such a situation. We have reviewed our experience over the past five years following up the families of 51 children who have died suddenly and unexpectedly in our regional PICU. In doing this we have identified five key elements that we suggest are essential to a successful follow up meeting, and have supported this with case studies as illustration.
ISSN:0003-9888
1468-2044
DOI:10.1136/adc.87.1.36