Primary bereavement care across health care settings and contexts: a systematic review protocol of qualitative evidence

Review question The objective of this review is to identify the appropriateness of primary bereavement care interventions from the perspectives of health care providers and recipients in a variety of health care settings (e.g., acute care (emergency department, labor and delivery, geriatrics, pediatrics), community care, long term care etc.) and contexts (e.g. perinatal infant death, SIDS, child death, accidental/traumatic death, palliative care, etc.). The review will be guided by the following review question: What are health care providers’ and recipients’ experiences of primary bereavement care interventions in a variety of health care settings and contexts? Inclusion criteria Types of participants This systematic review will consider studies that include one or both of two types of participants, regardless of age, gender, or cultural identity. The first group will include family members and/or friends of individuals who were anticipating the death of a loved one, or were adjusting to life after the death of a loved one and who received primary bereavement care. The second group will include any health care provider, including but not limited to nurses, physicians, social workers, spiritual and religious care providers and psychologists, who have offered primary bereavement care to patients, family members and/or friends of persons who were dying, or who died. Phenomena of interest This review will consider studies that investigate primary bereavement care interventions, as reported by family members and friends who have lost a loved one in different health care settings and contexts. The phenomenon of interest also includes the perspectives of health care providers on primary bereavement care. Primary bereavement care may not be labeled as such in studies reviewed, but will be identified by descriptions of care surrounding the loss of a loved one. Context This systematic review can include any location where a death has occurred, such as urban, rural, remote, institutional and/or community health/home care settings, or contexts such as perinatal infant death, SIDS, child death, accidental/traumatic death, palliative care and so forth.