Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic and physical distancing limitations have had a profound impact on funeral practices and associated grieving processes. The purpose of the present scoping review is to summarize the existing literature on the emerging use of virtual funerals. Five medical databases, five social science databases, and five grey literature databases were searched, identifying 1,351 titles and abstracts, of which 62 met inclusion criteria. Four themes, each with various subthemes emerged: (a) Impact of virtual funerals on coping with death; (b) Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the funeral industry; (c) Benefits and disadvantages of virtual funerals; and (d) Future implications for health and social work practitioners. Virtual funerals are an evolving resource for individuals, families, and communities to mourn in response to the interruptions to traditional grieving practices due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Highlights
The COVID-19 pandemic and physical distancing limitations have had a profound impact on funeral practices and associated grieving processes
Peer-reviewed and grey literature was considered appropriate for inclusion in this study if significant sections of the article focused on the use of virtual funerals during the COVID-19 pandemic
There were 1,237 sources that were excluded during the screening process because their title and abstract indicated they were not relevant to the current scoping review, as their subject matter was not focused on the use of virtual funerals during the COVID-19 pandemic
Summary
The present scoping review utilized the method outlined by Arksey and O’Malley (2005) to synthesize and analyze a wide range of relevant literature on the use of virtual funerals during the COVID-19 pandemic and to identify gaps in existing literature on this topic. Peer-reviewed and grey literature was considered appropriate for inclusion in this study if significant sections of the article focused on the use of virtual funerals during the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes studies that have gathered original data (quantitative or qualitative), as well as commentaries, perspectives, opinion pieces, and news articles. There were 1,237 sources that were excluded during the screening process because their title and abstract indicated they were not relevant to the current scoping review, as their subject matter was not focused on the use of virtual funerals during the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 Study Register, Google Scholar, New York Academy of Medicine’s Grey Literature Database, Open
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