Caregivers' Loss of the Dyadic Experience after Their Care Partners' Death.
Harleah G Buck, Karen Lyons, Philip Barrison and 4 others
PMID 33514300WHAT IT FOUND
Bereaved caregivers often felt their deceased partner was still present, while struggling with new practical roles and mixed feelings.
The paper suggests nurses ask open-ended questions about the relationship to assess ongoing impact.
Key findings
01The accounts were grouped into five subthemes: still present, gone but not forgotten, social isolation, role change or role reversal, and ambivalence toward the partner.
02Within the relational uncertainty theme, the paper counted approximately 8% (n=16) statements in the present tense about the deceased care partner.
03Ongoing ambivalence toward the partner was the strongest partner-interference subtheme, reported as 35% of codes (n=30/86).
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study included only 29 caregivers from one hospice, so the accounts may not apply to other bereaved caregivers. The sample was primarily female and white, and hospice sampling frames are known to include more white patients. Caregivers had screened positive for complicated grief but had resolved complicated grief by the time of interview, so the findings may not describe acute grief. The analysis used only two theoretical concepts, relational uncertainty and partner interference, which may simplify a more complex bereavement process. The study was qualitative and did not test whether asking about dyadic dissolution improves outcomes.
Declared interests
The authors declared that Dr. Kevin Kip is on the Board of Directors for the International Society of Accelerated Resolution Therapy but does not receive payment for the advising position. The article is listed as Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these themes as a tested intervention or as proof that all bereaved caregivers experience them. The study interviewed 29 hospice caregivers whose complicated grief had resolved, so it describes one group's accounts.