Why aren’t rural family caregivers receiving appropriate bereavement support in Australia? Practical considerations for palliative care settings

Abstract

Bereavement support for families and carers in rural Australian settings often fails to meet well-established and longstanding guidelines in key areas, subsequently causing undue mental distress for many individuals and potentially leading to the development of prolonged grief disorder (PGD), a debilitating psychiatric disorder of intensified grief and additional physical health detriments. In this paper, we consider the literature surrounding rural bereavement care in Australia and identify factors that contribute to poorer bereavement care in these locations, including issues of lacking policy elements to guide bereavement support and deficiencies in training and staffing which create difficulties between competing healthcare priorities. We synthesise recommendations of several guidelines to propose an individualised, multi-disciplinary, and pathway-based approach to rural bereavement care, and finally suggest several key areas that can be targeted and improved to help improve rural bereavement care in Australia without creating significant strain on the already thin resources of rural healthcare settings.

What difference does a year make? Looking back and ahead in Bereavement - Volume 2

“…In its mix of research and viewpoint articles the 2022 collection includes views on grief experiences, support needs, bereavement care practices and provision during and beyond the pandemic (Harrop & Selman, 2022;Samuel, 2022;Scott et al, 2022;Walker et al, 2022). Methodological innovations and reflections are another welcome feature (Lytje & Holliday, 2022;Qasim & Carson, 2022), while research with people less heard and served, including diverse international contributions, make up a substantial and much valued proportion of last year's publications (Creed, 2022;Dyregov et al, 2022;Eaton-Stull et al, 2022;Hamiduzzaman et al, 2022;Hamilton et al, 2022;Popoola et al, 20212;Qasim & Carson, 2022;Smidova, 2022).…”