‘It’s like being in a war with an invisible enemy’: A document analysis of bereavement due to COVID-19 in UK newspapers

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has been followed intensely by the global news media, with deaths and bereavement a major focus. The media reflect and reinforce cultural conventions and sense-making, offering a lens which shapes personal experiences and attitudes. How COVID-19 bereavement is reported therefore has important societal implications. We aimed to explore the reportage and portrayal of COVID-19 related bereavement in the top seven most-read British online newspapers during two week-long periods in March and April 2020. We conducted a qualitative document analysis of all articles that described grief or bereavement after a death from COVID-19. Analysis of 55 articles was informed by critical discourse analysis and Terror Management Theory, which describes a psychological conflict arising between the realisation that death is inevitable and largely unpredictable and the human need for self-preservation. We identified three main narratives: (1) fear of an uncontrollable, unknown new virus and its uncertain consequences—associated with sensationalist language and a sense of helplessness and confusion; (2) managing uncertainty and fear via prediction of the future and calls for behaviour change, associated with use of war metaphors; and (3) mourning and loss narratives that paid respect to the deceased and gave voice to grief, associated with euphemistic or glorifying language (‘passed away’, ‘heroes’). Accounts of death and grief were largely homogenous, with bereavement due to COVID-19 presented as a series of tragedies, and there was limited practical advice about what to do if a loved one became seriously ill or died. Reporting reflected the tension between focusing on existential threat and the need to retreat from or attempt to control that threat. While the impact of this reporting on the public is unknown, a more nuanced approach is recommended to better support those bereaved by COVID-19.

COVID-19–Associated Orphanhood and Caregiver Death in the United States

“…When custodial grandparents raising grandchildren in the absence of parents die, these children, functionally, face orphanhood a second time. With many caregiving grandparents in highest-risk ages for COVID mortality, children may face a serious new adversity 20 .…”

‘Saying goodbye’ during the COVID-19 pandemic: A document analysis of online newspapers with implications for end of life care

“… 17 – 19 Our multistage analytical process involved reading, coding and interpreting each of the texts to identify recurring narrative patterns and themes within and across documents and to consider these in relation to existing social theories about death, grief and bereavement as well as media reporting on death. We further discuss our methods and the general narratives we identified in a separate publication 20 ; here we focus on discourses related to ‘saying goodbye’ and consider implications for end-of-life care and bereavement support. By focusing on the different ways in which the media articles discussed ‘saying goodbye’, we were able to identify several distinct narratives around this process which we have organised into themes to illustrate both the narratives and the normative social constructs that were present within them.…”

‘Good’ and ‘Bad’ deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic: insights from a rapid qualitative study

“…Recent research in the USA suggests that every COVID-19 death leaves nine bereaved kin, 23 translating in the UK to over 1 million bereaved. 24 Yet, over the course of the pandemic, the public conversation surrounding mortality from COVID-19, as propelled by both the UK government and media coverage, has diminished. Despite data that suggest that excess death has occurred since 18 March 2020, 25 it has been normalised in public discourse as the crisis has prolonged.…”

“…There is a lack of nuance in the presentation of death and grief in the media, and a tension between sensationalist accounts and discourse which attempts to mitigate the threat of disease. 26 In the UK, mortality has adversely affected 27 and has been reported differently 28 for minority groups such as Bangladeshi and Pakistani groups, and deprived communities. 29 The fact that such excess death has occurred disproportionately exacerbates the feeling that some lives are worth more than others-producing new social divides and forms of distrust in government.…”