Why does bereavement support matter at end of life? There were 35,477 deaths registered in 2022. For each death in Ireland up to 10 people are impacted, this includes adults and children 25 . This means that over 350,000 people are grieving the death of a loved one each year. Yet despite the large numbers impacted, and the commonality of the experience among older people, bereavement remains relatively absent from formal policies in Ireland. There is only one brief mention of this issue in the National Positive Ageing Strategy. 26 It does not feature as an issue in overarching health strategies and when it is referenced, it is in the context of palliative care, mental health and suicide. Bereavement care begins at the point of diagnosis and carries on through care at the time of death and as a follow-up with access to appropriate bereavement services. The National Adult Palliative Care Policy 27 notes the importance of providing bereavement support to help people cope with their family member’s illness and their own experience of grief, loss, and bereavement. Most older people will journey with someone who is dying at some point in their lives. A public health approach identifies their bereavement needs and maps out the appropriate informal, community, organised and professional responses which are needed. The Adult Bereavement Care Pyramid 28 notes that all bereaved people have needs; those needs include the need for compassion, for information and for the support of those around them. Others will require more support from their communities and peer support groups. For a small but significant proportion (nearly 10%), 29 their grief is extremely debilitating and will require more specialised support. SUMMARY ALL RELATIVES AND FRIENDS DESERVE TO BE KEPT WELL INFORMED AND COMMUNICATED WITH IN A SENSITIVE WAY AS THEIR LOVED ONE APPROACHES END OF LIFE. EVERYONE SHOULD BE PROVIDED WITH PRACTICAL INFORMATION ON WHAT TO DO FOLLOWING THE DEATH AND TO BE OFFERED BEREAVEMENT SUPPORT AND COUNSELLING, SHOULD THEY WANT IT.
25 Tracking the reach of COVID-19 kin loss with a bereavement multiplier applied to the USA , PNAS, 2020 26 National Positive Ageing Strategy , Department of Health, 2013 27 National Adult Palliative Care Policy , Department of Health, 2024, 28 Adult Bereavement Care Pyramid: A National Framework, Irish Hospice Foundation, 2021 29 Prevalence of prolonged grief disorder in adult bereavement: A systematic review and meta-analysis, Journal of Affective Disorders, 2017
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Telling It Like It Is
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