How Does Grief Present During A Global Health Crisis?

What you need to know

• People who lost loved ones during public health crises may face additional challenges in their grieving process due to restrictions on visiting, funeral attendance, and access to support
• Social isolation and loneliness during bereavement are linked to worse mental health outcomes
• Being unable to care for a dying loved one as desired is associated with more severe grief symptoms

Understanding Different Grief Patterns

The researchers identified four main patterns of grief responses among people who lost loved ones during the pandemic:

• Low symptoms (46.8%): People who showed relatively few signs of distress
• Grief only (17.3%): People who primarily struggled with grief symptoms
• Depression/anxiety (17.7%): People who mainly experienced depression and anxiety
• Combined symptoms (18.2%): People who had high levels of grief, depression and anxiety together

The group with combined symptoms reported the most difficulties with work, relationships, and daily activities. This suggests that experiencing multiple types of mental health challenges at once can be especially disruptive to someone’s life.

Key Risk Factors

Several factors were associated with more severe grief responses:

Relationship to the Deceased

People who lost a child or partner were more likely to experience intense grief symptoms compared to those who lost other relatives or friends. This aligns with previous research showing that losing immediate family members often leads to more profound grief.

Preparation for Loss

Those who felt less prepared for their loved one’s death tended to have worse outcomes. This highlights the importance of helping families understand and prepare for end-of-life situations when possible.

Care Restrictions

People who were unable to care for their dying loved one as they would have liked due to pandemic restrictions often experienced more severe grief. This suggests that restrictions on hospital visits and other care activities may have complicated the grieving process.

Social Support

Experiencing loneliness and social isolation was consistently linked to worse mental health outcomes across all symptom groups. This emphasizes how crucial social connection and support are during bereavement.

Impact on Daily Life

The research found that grief affected various aspects of people’s lives:

• Work performance and ability to maintain employment
• Managing household responsibilities
• Social relationships and activities
• Overall physical health and wellbeing

The group experiencing combined grief, depression and anxiety symptoms reported the highest levels of disruption across all these areas.

Recommendations for Support

Based on the findings, several approaches may help those grieving during public health crises:

1. When visitation must be restricted, provide alternative ways for families to connect with dying loved ones, such as video calls

2. Ensure bereaved people have access to social support and connection, even if in-person gatherings are limited

3. Screen for multiple types of mental health challenges (not just grief) when assessing bereaved individuals

4. Consider additional support for those who lost immediate family members

5. Help prepare families for anticipated deaths when possible

Conclusions

• Almost 70% of participants reported their mental health worsened after their loss
• Having multiple mental health challenges (grief, depression, and anxiety together) was linked to the most severe life disruption
• Pandemic-related restrictions on caregiving and social support may have complicated the grieving process
• Healthcare systems need better ways to support bereaved people during public health crises