2.2.1 Survey Aims
e survey had four main objectives: 1.
To examine attitudes of Irish people towards dying, death, and bereavement. To examine people’s experiences of dying, death, and bereavement.
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3. To explore if and how the COVID-19 pandemic affected people’s experiences of dying, death, and bereavement. 4. To explore if any positive experiences have emerged through the pandemic in relation to new practices and rituals in the field of end-of-life care and mourning.
2.2.2 Survey Methods
Data were collected via a survey tool, between November 2021 and February 2022, which was 18 months after the declaration of the pandemic, and one year after the COVID-19 vaccination was made available for vulnerable patients. Many public health measures remained in place, including the wearing of face masks and visiting restrictions, making this an appropriate time to reflect on the past collective experience. e survey was completed by 2,259 respondents. It was available in both digital forms (via Survey Monkey) and paper forms. Individuals who participated in the survey self-selected, were aged over 18 years old and living in Ireland. e survey was disseminated by IHF through different platforms including IHF events, social media, network connections, and relevant programmes. Promotion of the survey was also done within hospitals via the End-of-Life Care Coordinators Networks and postering. Paper versions of the survey were distributed to individuals in nursing homes.
2.2.3 Survey Instrument
e Time to Reflect survey comprised 38 questions across three sections. e first section of the survey (Section A) examined perspectives on dying, death, and bereavement since the pandemic began. Participants who indicated they were bereaved during this time proceeded to Section B, which focused on the participants personal experience before and after the death of their loved one. e final section of the survey (Section C) collected demographic and wellbeing information from bereaved and non-bereaved participants. Bereaved participants were also invited to complete the Brief Grief Questionnaire (BGQ). e BGQ is a validated questionnaire for screening for Prolonged Grief Disorder (PGD) and comprises five statements. e five item screening measure scored on a three-point Likert scale (0 = not at all, 1 = somewhat, 2 = a lot) asks respondents to report on the extent of complicated grief symptoms they are currently experiencing. An example item is, ‘How much are you having trouble accepting the death of ____?’
1. Patel, SR., Cole, A., Little, V., Skritskaya, NA., Lever, E., Dixon, LB., Shear, K., (2019). Acceptability, feasibility and outcome of a screening programme for complicated grief in integrated primary and behavioural health care clinics, Family Practice, Volume 36, Issue 2, Pages 125–131, https://doi.org/10.1093/fampra/cmy050
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