Psychosocial Intervention Studies Conducted by Health Care Professionals for Bereaved Families Who Have Lost Members to Cancer or Other Physical Illness

Abstract

This paper introduces the international studies used in compiling the Guidelines for Bereaved Family Care (edited and published by the Japan Psycho-Oncology Society (JPOS) and the Japanese Association of Supportive Care in Cancer (JASCC) in 2022) as evidence for non-pharmacological treatment of psychiatric distress among members of bereaved families. Of these, nine intervention studies conducted by health care professionals involved in patient care with the aim of bringing about improvements in their clinical activities are focused on, and an overview of the theories and methods employed is presented. Activities include bereavement care provided by family physicians and health care professionals involved in emergency care, measures taken to help caregivers co-participate in such areas of patient management as early palliative care and advance care planning (ACP), and support for effective communication among health care professionals, patients, and family members. In addition, a number of the studies involve intervention by caregivers in the home before the patients' death.