Bereavement Management - Description, Assessment and Care

Bereavement Management. Description, Assessment and Care. A Randomized Controlled Study.

This study aims to develop a risk assessment tool to identify bereaved in risk of complicated grief reactions and to implement a bereavement management programme in primary health care based on the Dual Process Model of coping with bereavement. Furthermore to enhance bereavement care in general practice and to enhance patients' self-management in bereavement care.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Grief; Bereavement
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Prognostic screening for complicated grief

Detailed Description

In Denmark alone there are approximately 55.000 deaths annually which leave approximately 200.000 bereaved close relatives. International studies show that 10-15% of bereaved persons develop complications following the death of a close relative. If those studies hold true, approximately 20 - 30.000 individuals annually will develop complications as a result of suffering a loss, and there is hardly any knowledge of how bereavement is treated or even legitimized in primary care and referred on to specialized (psychological or psychiatric) care. The field of bereavement is in need of studies that validate the theoretical underpinnings of the research area, enhanced assessment of predictive risk factors and updated intervention methods: in short a scientifically valid management programme.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 402
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Denmark
  • Aarhus, Denmark, 8000
    • Research unit for general practice

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Newly bereaved from one of the inclusion facilities.
• 18 years or older.
• Danish citizen.
• Able to understand and speak Danish.
• Informed consent.
• Mentally able to cooperate

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patients with known substance abuse.
• Patients with recently (within 5 years) diagnosed psychopathological disorders that trigger psychotic episodes.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Diagnostic
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Intervention group; A) Professional level. B) Patient level. Intervention Professional level: General Practitioners (GP) receive updated information on bereavement related symptoms, how to identify complicated grief, and the Dual Process Model (DPM) of coping. GPs receive suggestions on how to provide psycho-educational support for the patient. GPs are informed about the results of the initial assessment of their patient prognostic screening for complicated grief. Patient level: Patients receive updated information on bereavement related symptoms, the DPM of coping and suggestions on when to seek professional help. Patients are informed of the results of their initial assessment of their prognostic grief screening. Patients are encouraged to contact their GP if they worry about handling their bereavement reaction.	Other: Prognostic screening for complicated grief; Patients in the intervention group are prognostically screened for development of complicated grief to identify those in need of help.
Other: Control group; Treatment as usual (in the Danish health care system).	Other: Prognostic screening for complicated grief; Patients in the intervention group are prognostically screened for development of complicated grief to identify those in need of help.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Effect of the intervention measured by an increase in the diagnosis of complicated grief.	GPs receive updated information on bereavement related symptoms, how to identify complicated grief, and the Dual Process Model of coping.	20 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Effect of the intervention measured by register-based data.	Effect of the intervention measured by register-based data on frequency in contact with GP, referrals to psychological/psychiatric counselling, medicine consumption and use of emergency services.	20 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Aarhus
• Collaborators: Danish Cancer Society; TrygFonden, Denmark; Dæhnfeldt Foundation
• Investigators: Study Chair: Frede Olesen, Professor, Research Unit for General Practice, Aarhus University, Denmark

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Guldin MB, Vedsted P, Jensen AB, Olesen F, Zachariae R. Bereavement care in general practice: a cluster-randomized clinical trial. Fam Pract. 2013 Apr;30(2):134-41. doi: 10.1093/fampra/cms053. Epub 2012 Sep 10.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: June 1, 2009
• Primary Completion (Actual): January 1, 2012
• Study Completion (Actual): January 1, 2012

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: February 8, 2011
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 8, 2011
• First Posted (Estimate): February 9, 2011

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 27, 2020
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 25, 2020
• Last Verified: March 1, 2012

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Complicated grief; Bereavement management
• Other Study ID Numbers: Bereavement Management.