A scoping review of bereavement risk assessment measures: Implications for palliative care

© The Author(s) 2015. Background: Palliative care standards and policies recommend that bereavement support be provided to family caregivers, yet uncertainty surrounds whether support currently offered by palliative care services throughout developed countries meets caregiver needs. The public healt...

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Main Authors: Sealey, M., Breen, Lauren, O'Connor, Moira, Aoun, Samar
Format: Journal Article
Published: SAGE Publications Ltd 2015
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/12698
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author Sealey, M.
Breen, Lauren
O'Connor, Moira
Aoun, Samar
author_facet Sealey, M.
Breen, Lauren
O'Connor, Moira
Aoun, Samar
author_sort Sealey, M.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description © The Author(s) 2015. Background: Palliative care standards and policies recommend that bereavement support be provided to family caregivers, yet uncertainty surrounds whether support currently offered by palliative care services throughout developed countries meets caregiver needs. The public health model of bereavement support, which aligns bereavement support needs with intervention, may address this gap between policy and practice. Aim: The aim was to review the literature to identify bereavement risk assessment measures appropriate for different points in the caring and bereavement trajectories, evaluate their psychometric properties and assess feasibility for use in palliative care. Design: A scoping review was systematically undertaken following Arksey and O'Malley's methodological framework. Data sources: PsycINFO, CINAHL, PubMed and Cochrane Reviews databases, as well as grey literature including Internet searches of Google, World Health Organization, CareSearch, the Grey Literature Report and OAIster were searched. Bereavement organisations and palliative care websites, reference lists in obtained articles and grief and bereavement handbooks were also scrutinised. Results: Of 3142 records screened, 356 records yielded 70 grief measures. In all, 19 measures published between 1982 and 2014 were identified for inclusion in this review, and categorised for use with family caregivers at three points in time - before the patient's death (n = 5), in the period following the death (n = 10) and for screening of prolonged or complex grief (n = 4). The majority had acceptable psychometric properties; feasibility for use in palliative care varied substantially. Conclusion: This review is an important preliminary step in improving the assessment of bereavement risk and, consequently, better bereavement outcomes for palliative care family caregivers.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-126982017-09-13T15:01:03Z A scoping review of bereavement risk assessment measures: Implications for palliative care Sealey, M. Breen, Lauren O'Connor, Moira Aoun, Samar © The Author(s) 2015. Background: Palliative care standards and policies recommend that bereavement support be provided to family caregivers, yet uncertainty surrounds whether support currently offered by palliative care services throughout developed countries meets caregiver needs. The public health model of bereavement support, which aligns bereavement support needs with intervention, may address this gap between policy and practice. Aim: The aim was to review the literature to identify bereavement risk assessment measures appropriate for different points in the caring and bereavement trajectories, evaluate their psychometric properties and assess feasibility for use in palliative care. Design: A scoping review was systematically undertaken following Arksey and O'Malley's methodological framework. Data sources: PsycINFO, CINAHL, PubMed and Cochrane Reviews databases, as well as grey literature including Internet searches of Google, World Health Organization, CareSearch, the Grey Literature Report and OAIster were searched. Bereavement organisations and palliative care websites, reference lists in obtained articles and grief and bereavement handbooks were also scrutinised. Results: Of 3142 records screened, 356 records yielded 70 grief measures. In all, 19 measures published between 1982 and 2014 were identified for inclusion in this review, and categorised for use with family caregivers at three points in time - before the patient's death (n = 5), in the period following the death (n = 10) and for screening of prolonged or complex grief (n = 4). The majority had acceptable psychometric properties; feasibility for use in palliative care varied substantially. Conclusion: This review is an important preliminary step in improving the assessment of bereavement risk and, consequently, better bereavement outcomes for palliative care family caregivers. 2015 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/12698 10.1177/0269216315576262 SAGE Publications Ltd fulltext
spellingShingle Sealey, M.
Breen, Lauren
O'Connor, Moira
Aoun, Samar
A scoping review of bereavement risk assessment measures: Implications for palliative care
title A scoping review of bereavement risk assessment measures: Implications for palliative care
title_full A scoping review of bereavement risk assessment measures: Implications for palliative care
title_fullStr A scoping review of bereavement risk assessment measures: Implications for palliative care
title_full_unstemmed A scoping review of bereavement risk assessment measures: Implications for palliative care
title_short A scoping review of bereavement risk assessment measures: Implications for palliative care
title_sort scoping review of bereavement risk assessment measures: implications for palliative care
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/12698