Resource Center

Morbidity and mortality associated with bereavement is an important public health issue, yet economic and resource investments to effectively implement and sustain integrated bereavement services are sorely lacking at national and global levels. Although bereavement support is a component of palliative care provision, continuity of care for bereaved individuals is often not standard practice in palliative and end-of-life contexts. In addition to potentially provoking feelings of abandonment, failure to extend family-centred care after a patient's death can leave bereaved families without access to crucial psychosocial support and at risk for illnesses that exacerbate the already substantial public health toll of interpersonal loss. The effect of inadequate bereavement care disproportionately disadvantages vulnerable groups, including those living in resource-constrained settings. We build on available evidence and previous recommendations to propose a model for transitional care, firmly establishing bereavement care services within health-care institutions, while respecting their finite resources and the need to ultimately transition grieving families to supports within their communities. Key to the transitional bereavement care model is the bolstering of community-based supports through development of compassionate communities and upskilling of professional services for those with more substantial bereavement support needs. To achieve this goal, interprofessional health workers, institutions, and systems must shift bereavement care from an afterthought to a public health priority.

About the organization: The Lancet began as an independent, international weekly general medical journal founded in 1823 by Thomas Wakley. Since its first issue (Oct 5, 1823), the journal has strived to make science widely available so that medicine can serve and transform society as well as positively impact the lives of people.

For more than two centuries, The Lancet has sought to address urgent topics in our society, initiate debate, put science into context, and influence decision makers around the world. The Lancet Group has evolved as a family of journals but retains at its core the belief that medicine must serve society, knowledge must transform society, and the best science must lead to better lives.

Keywords: Bereavement, Morbidity, Mortality, Palliative, Support, Care, Public Health, Transitional, Community, Continuity, Vulnerable, Integration, Compassionate, Interprofessional, Health Systems, Psychosocial, Resources, Impact, Disadvantage, Sustainability