Relatives' grief at three moments after death of a loved one during COVID-19 pandemic (the CO-LIVE study)

Corine A. Nierop-van Baalen, F. Erica Witkamp, Ida J. Korfage, H. Roeline Pasman, Yvonne N. Becque, Masha S. Zee, Agnes van der Heide, Bregje D. Onwuteaka-hilipsen, Anne Goossensen

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

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Abstract

COVID-19 has complicated grieving experiences. Rich qualitative description of these experiences is lacking. We interviewed 10 bereaved relatives (mainly daughters) 2-3 times each: shortly after their relative died in the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic, and after 12 and 18 months (29 interviews in total). Analyses took place according to inductive content analysis. Losses were threefold: the loss of the loved one; of the (desired) way to say farewell, and of social support. We identified five ways in which the three COVID-19 related loss experiences interacted: overshadowed grief, cumulative grief, triggered grief, derailed grief, and conciliatory grief. This study demonstrated that pre-COVID-19 diagnoses and understandings of grief are not sufficient to picture grief during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. These grief experiences are more complex and deserve further exploration.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)927-936
Number of pages10
JournalDeath Studies
Volume48
Issue number9
Early online date25 Dec 2023
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2024

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

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