Experiences of older adults who have lost a child: reflections on grief and for nursing.
Richard Augusto Thomann Beckert, Valéria Silvana Faganello Madureira, Ivonete Teresinha Schulter Buss Heidemann and 4 others
PMID 42339935WHAT IT FOUND
Older adults bereaved by a child’s death described grief as lasting and unlike other losses.
They relied on faith, prayer, cemetery visits, and private mourning. These supports may matter to how nurses assess bereavement.
Key findings
01Losing a child was described as incomparable with other family losses.
02Grief was described as lasting a long time and not going away.
03Coping included faith, prayer, cemetery visits, and wearing a closed-off grief garment.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Only eight older adults from one municipality were included, so the findings cannot be generalised to all bereaved older adults. All participants were Christian, Catholic or Lutheran, and snowball sampling may have missed older adults with other beliefs or different relationships with death. The study described grief experiences and coping themes; it did not test whether any nursing action or coping strategy improves health. Interviews were conducted by undergraduate nursing students, and one of nine contacted people refused, which may affect who was heard.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read faith, prayer, cemetery visits, or mourning clothes as proven treatments that reduce grief. This was a small qualitative study of eight older adults, not an intervention trial.