Bereavement Support Programs in the Intensive Care Unit: A Systematic Review. 2022

A C M Brekelmans, and Dharmanand Ramnarain, and Sjaak Pouwels
Department of Intensive Care Medicine, Elisabeth-Tweesteden Hospital, Tilburg, (A.C.M.B, D.R., S.P) The Netherlands.

The death of a loved one in the intensive care unit (ICU) may have a psychological impact on relatives of deceased ICU patients. The first aim of this review is to give an overview of different bereavement support strategies and possible different effects on anxiety, depression, Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and complicated grief. Secondly to assess if there is a difference in organization among bereavement support strategies mentioned in literature. A multi-database search (Pubmed, Web of Science, PsychInfo, Medline, and Embase) was conducted until February 6, 2021. Articles were screened and selected by two independent researchers. Methodological quality of the included articles was assessed using the Delphi List for Quality Assessment of Randomized Clinical Trials and the Newcastle-Ottawa scale (NOS) for nonrandomized trials. The primary literature search revealed 1668 articles, including 769 duplicates. Seven articles were included in this review, of which six were randomized controlled trials and one was a prospective cross-sectional study. We found that a bereavement strategy consisting of a communication strategy and a brochure lowered the appearance of symptoms of PTSD, anxiety, and depression. A brochure, condolence card, and phone call as bereavement support can lower the risk of prolonged grief. Receiving information about CPR and getting the choice to attend CPR led to fewer frequencies of PTSD, depression, and traumatic/complicated grief. A bereavement strategy consisting of multiple parts, including family participation and a brochure may reduce the levels of anxiety, depression, PTSD, and/or complicated bereavement in family members of deceased ICU patients.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D007362 Intensive Care Units Hospital units providing continuous surveillance and care to acutely ill patients. ICU Intensive Care Units,Intensive Care Unit,Unit, Intensive Care
D011446 Prospective Studies Observation of a population for a sufficient number of persons over a sufficient number of years to generate incidence or mortality rates subsequent to the selection of the study group. Prospective Study,Studies, Prospective,Study, Prospective
D011795 Surveys and Questionnaires Collections of data obtained from voluntary subjects. The information usually takes the form of answers to questions, or suggestions. Community Survey,Nonrespondent,Questionnaire,Questionnaires,Respondent,Survey,Survey Method,Survey Methods,Surveys,Baseline Survey,Community Surveys,Methodology, Survey,Nonrespondents,Questionnaire Design,Randomized Response Technique,Repeated Rounds of Survey,Respondents,Survey Methodology,Baseline Surveys,Design, Questionnaire,Designs, Questionnaire,Methods, Survey,Questionnaire Designs,Questionnaires and Surveys,Randomized Response Techniques,Response Technique, Randomized,Response Techniques, Randomized,Survey, Baseline,Survey, Community,Surveys, Baseline,Surveys, Community,Techniques, Randomized Response
D003430 Cross-Sectional Studies Studies in which the presence or absence of disease or other health-related variables are determined in each member of the study population or in a representative sample at one particular time. This contrasts with LONGITUDINAL STUDIES which are followed over a period of time. Disease Frequency Surveys,Prevalence Studies,Analysis, Cross-Sectional,Cross Sectional Analysis,Cross-Sectional Survey,Surveys, Disease Frequency,Analyses, Cross Sectional,Analyses, Cross-Sectional,Analysis, Cross Sectional,Cross Sectional Analyses,Cross Sectional Studies,Cross Sectional Survey,Cross-Sectional Analyses,Cross-Sectional Analysis,Cross-Sectional Study,Cross-Sectional Surveys,Disease Frequency Survey,Prevalence Study,Studies, Cross-Sectional,Studies, Prevalence,Study, Cross-Sectional,Study, Prevalence,Survey, Cross-Sectional,Survey, Disease Frequency,Surveys, Cross-Sectional
D005190 Family A social group consisting of parents or parent substitutes and children. Family Life Cycles,Family Members,Family Life Cycle,Family Research,Filiation,Kinship Networks,Relatives,Families,Family Member,Kinship Network,Life Cycle, Family,Life Cycles, Family,Network, Kinship,Networks, Kinship,Research, Family
D006117 Grief Normal, appropriate sorrowful response to an immediate cause. It is self-limiting and gradually subsides within a reasonable time. Mourning,Griefs,Mournings
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D001601 Bereavement Refers to the whole process of grieving and mourning and is associated with a deep sense of loss and sadness. Bereavements
D013313 Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic A class of traumatic stress disorders with symptoms that last more than one month. Moral Injury,Neuroses, Post-Traumatic,PTSD,Post Traumatic Stress Disorder,Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders,Acute Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder,Chronic Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder,Delayed Onset Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder,Neuroses, Posttraumatic,Posttraumatic Stress Disorders,Stress Disorder, Post Traumatic,Stress Disorders, Posttraumatic,Acute Post Traumatic Stress Disorder,Chronic Post Traumatic Stress Disorder,Delayed Onset Post Traumatic Stress Disorder,Injury, Moral,Moral Injuries,Neuroses, Post Traumatic,Post Traumatic Stress Disorders,Post-Traumatic Neuroses,Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder,Posttraumatic Neuroses,Posttraumatic Stress Disorder,Stress Disorder, Post-Traumatic,Stress Disorder, Posttraumatic
D016032 Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic Works about clinical trials that involve at least one test treatment and one control treatment, concurrent enrollment and follow-up of the test- and control-treated groups, and in which the treatments to be administered are selected by a random process, such as the use of a random-numbers table. Clinical Trials, Randomized,Controlled Clinical Trials, Randomized,Trials, Randomized Clinical

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