Grief during the COVID-19 pandemic: Considerations for palliative care providers
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2020
Department/School
Social Work
Publication Title
Journal of Pain and Symptom Management
Abstract
© 2020 American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine The COVID-19 pandemic is anticipated to continue spreading widely across the globe throughout 2020. To mitigate the devastating impact of COVID-19, social distancing and visitor restrictions in health care facilities have been widely implemented. Such policies and practices, along with the direct impact of the spread of COVID-19, complicate issues of grief that are relevant to medical providers. We describe the relationship of the COVID-19 pandemic to anticipatory grief, disenfranchised grief, and complicated grief for individuals, families, and their providers. Furthermore, we provide discussion regarding countering this grief through communication, advance care planning, and self-care practices. We provide resources for health care providers, in addition to calling on palliative care providers to consider their own role as a resource to other specialties during this public health emergency.
Link to Published Version
Recommended Citation
Wallace, C. L., Wladkowski, S. P., Gibson, A., & White, P. (2020). Grief during the COVID-19 pandemic: Considerations for palliative care providers. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 60(1), e70–e76. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2020.04.012