Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused millions of deaths worldwide, leading to symptoms of grief among the bereaved. Neither the burden of severe grief nor its predictors are fully known within the context of the pandemic. Aim: To determine the prevalence and predictors of severe grief in family members who were bereaved early in the COVID-19 pandemic. Design: Prospective, matched cohort study. Setting/Participants: Family members of people who died in an acute hospital in Ottawa, Canada between November 1, 2019 and August 31, 2020. We matched relatives of patients who died of COVID (COVID +ve) with those who died of non-COVID illness either during wave 1 of the pandemic (COVID −ve) or immediately prior to its onset (pre-COVID). We abstracted decedents’ medical records, contacted family members >6 months post loss, and assessed grief symptoms using the Inventory of Complicated Grief-revised. Results: We abstracted data for 425 decedents (85 COVID +ve, 170 COVID −ve, and 170 pre-COVID), and 110 of 165 contacted family members (67%) consented to participate. Pre-COVID family members were physically present more in the last 48 h of life; the COVID +ve cohort were more present virtually. Overall, 35 family members (28.9%) had severe grief symptoms, and the prevalence was similar among the cohorts ( p = 0.91). Grief severity was not correlated with demographic factors, physical presence in the final 48 h of life, intubation, or relationship with the deceased. Conclusion: Severe grief is common among family members bereaved during the COVID-19 pandemic, regardless of the cause or circumstances of death, and even if their loss took place before the onset of the pandemic. This suggests that aspects of the pandemic itself contribute to severe grief, and factors that normally mitigate grief may not be as effective.

ObjectiveTo compare end-of-life in-person family presence, patient–family communication and healthcare team–family communication encounters in hospitalised decedents before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.DesignIn a regional multicentre retrospective cohort study, electronic health record data were abstracted for a prepandemic group (pre-COVID) and two intrapandemic (March–August 2020, wave 1) groups, one COVID-19 free (COVID-ve) and one with COVID-19 infection (COVID+ve). Pre-COVID and COVID-ve groups were matched 2:1 (age, sex and care service) with the COVID+ve group.SettingOne quaternary and two tertiary adult, acute care hospitals in Ottawa, Canada.ParticipantsDecedents (n=425): COVID+ve (n=85), COVID-ve (n=170) and pre-COVID (n=170).Main outcome measuresEnd-of-life (last 48 hours) in-person family presence and virtual (video) patient–family communication, and end-of-life (last 5 days) virtual team–family communication encounter occurrences were examined using logistic regression with ORs and 95% CIs. End-of-life (last 5 days) rates of in-person and telephone team–family communication encounters were examined using mixed-effects negative binomial models with incidence rate ratios (IRRs) and 95% CIs.ResultsEnd-of-life in-person family presence decreased progressively across pre-COVID (90.6%), COVID-ve (79.4%) and COVID+ve (47.1%) groups: adjusted ORs=0.38 (0.2–0.73) and 0.09 (0.04–0.17) for COVID-ve and COVID+ve groups, respectively. COVID-ve and COVID+ve groups had reduced in-person but increased telephone team–family communication encounters: IRRs=0.76 (0.64–0.9) and 0.61 (0.47–0.79) for in-person, and IRRs=2.6 (2.1–3.3) and 4.8 (3.7–6.1) for telephone communications, respectively. Virtual team–family communication encounters occurred in 17/85 (20%) and 10/170 (5.9%) of the COVID+ve and COVID-ve groups, respectively: adjusted OR=3.68 (1.51–8.95).ConclusionsIn hospitalised COVID-19 pandemic wave 1 decedents, in-person family presence and in-person team–family communication encounters decreased at end of life, particularly in the COVID+ve group; virtual modalities were adopted for communication, and telephone use increased in team–family communication encounters. The implications of these communication changes for the patient, family and healthcare team warrant further study.