Death, dying and bereavement care during COVID-19: Creativity in hospital social work practice

Mim Fox,Elisabeth Murphy,Joanna Mcilveen

doi:10.1177/1473325020981074

Mim Fox, Elisabeth Murphy + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1177/1473325020981074

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Abstract

Bereavement support and conducting viewings for grieving family members are commonplace activities for social workers in the acute hospital setting, however the risks that COVID-19 has brought to the social work role in bereavement care has necessitated the exploration of creative alternatives. Social workers are acutely aware of the complicating factors when bereavement support is inadequately provided, let alone absent, and with the aid of technology and both individual advocacy, social workers have been able to continue to focus on the needs of the most vulnerable in the hospital system. By drawing on reflective journaling and verbal reflective discussions amongst the authors, this article discusses bereavement support and the facilitation of viewings as clinical areas in which hospital social work has been observed adapting practice creatively throughout the pandemic.

Highlights

The relationship between social work practice, social work research, public health policy and healthcare outcomes has previously been argued for (Ruth and Marshall, 2017), as has the need for a coordinated psychological response for those in an acute care setting where COVID-19 wards have been established (Duan and Zhu, 2020)
The potential for reactive guidelines and procedures in hospitals which complicate the grieving process for both affected individuals and their loved ones has been articulated (Wallace et al, 2020), yet for social workers who work every day in these essential institutions, they are needing to continue to provide a social work service that is often counter-intuitive to this impact
We are acutely aware that this has not been the case for many of our international colleagues. In light of this there are two areas of grief and bereavement work in the acute hospital setting to highlight that demonstrate the complexity of the practice decisions that are being made, as well as the creativity of the social workers working in this space

Summary

Introduction

The relationship between social work practice, social work research, public health policy and healthcare outcomes has previously been argued for (Ruth and Marshall, 2017), as has the need for a coordinated psychological response for those in an acute care setting where COVID-19 wards have been established (Duan and Zhu, 2020). Keywords Social work practice, hospitals, bereavement, bereavement care, viewings, COVID-19

Results

Conclusion