Description

Each year approximately 50% of our palliative care patients pass away and many of their family members are overwhelmed with grief. Helping them through the process of bereavement is a vital component of palliative care. The development of Journey: A Bereavement Resource Guide helps answer important questions for families experiencing anticipatory grief and provides ongoing support throughout bereavement.

The goal was to create a clearly written, informative and above all empowering resource for families. The guide begins with an expression of sympathy and answers the question “What is grief?” It provides resources for bereavement services; websites, a reading list, and alternatives such as music, yoga, relaxation and meditation. The creation of the guide began with the involvement of a patient’s daughter. Her experience with grief and the experiences of many other family members’ impacted research, selection of images, and text.

The guide, highlighted during presentations, helped clinicians and hospital administrators appreciate that not only can palliative care be initiated at time of diagnosis and provided through treatment or cure; it can also extend into bereavement. Well received, the guide is being used hospital wide to support families in need as they embark on their journey through the bereavement process.