SynthesisBMC psychiatry2019
Effectiveness of interventions for people bereaved through suicide: a systematic review of controlled studies of grief, psychosocial and suicide-related outcomes.
Synthesis in BMC psychiatry, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 65 papers, 11 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
65 citing papers in PubMed, 11 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Effectiveness of grief interventions in underrepresented regions: a systematic review and exploratory meta-analysis.European journal of psychotraumatology · 2026Pooled it
- Perceived Effectiveness of Components of Interventions to Support People Bereaved By Suicide.Crisis · 2025Pooled it
- A suicide bereavement model: based on a meta-ethnography of the experiences of adult suicide loss survivors.Frontiers in public health · 2025Pooled it
- Evaluating Postvention Services and the Acceptability of Models of Postvention: A Systematic Review.Omega · 2024Pooled it
- A systematic review of controlled studies of suicidal and self-harming behaviours in adolescents following bereavement by suicide.PloS one · 2021Pooled it
- A systematic review of studies describing the influence of informal social support on psychological wellbeing in people bereaved by sudden or violent causes of death.BMC psychiatry · 2020Pooled it
- Association of suicidal behavior with exposure to suicide and suicide attempt: A systematic review and multilevel meta-analysis.PLoS medicine · 2020Pooled it
- Web-Based Bereavement Care: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2020Pooled it
- Suicide Postvention Service Models and Guidelines 2014-2019: A Systematic Review.Frontiers in psychology · 2019Pooled it
- The Efficacy of Bereavement Interventions: A Systematic Umbrella Review.Harvard review of psychiatryPooled it
- Are we Using the Right Evidence to Inform Suicide Prevention in Low- and Middle-Income Countries? An Umbrella Review.Archives of suicide research : official journal of the International Academy for Suicide ResearchPooled it
- A Randomized Controlled Trial of an SMS-Based Brief Contact Intervention for People Bereaved by Suicide.Suicide & life-threatening behavior · 2025Trial
- Efficacy of an Internet-based cognitive-behavioural grief therapy for people bereaved by suicide: a randomized controlled trial.European journal of psychotraumatology · 2021Trial
- Guardians of Memory, Dignity, and Family Cohesion: The Enduring Protective Role Underpinning Suicide-Bereaved Mothers' Psychosocial Needs and Engagement with Mental Health Care.Nursing reports (Pavia, Italy) · 2026Article
- Spirituality, religion, and meaning-making in suicide loss: an international overview of clinical responses and therapeutic approaches.Journal of religion and health · 2026Article
- Supporting Adolescents Bereaved by Suicide or Other Traumatic Death: The Views of Counselors.Omega · 2026Article
- A protocol for a pilot randomised controlled trial of an online cancer bereavement group.Pilot and feasibility studies · 2026Article
- Mental health and substance use conditions among emerging adults in Australia 2020-2022: Prevalence, severity and psychosocial correlates within geographic regions.The Australian and New Zealand journal of psychiatry · 2026Article
- Establishing core domains in suicide postvention: a Delphi study in Chile.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
- Measuring What Outcomes Matters Most to People When Accessing Suicide Postvention Support: A Qualitative Study.Community mental health journal · 2025Article
5 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundSuicide bereavement is a risk factor for adverse outcomes related to grief, social functioning, mental health and suicidal behaviour. Consequently, suicide bereavement support (i.e., postvention) has been identified as an important suicide prevention strategy. However, little is known about its effectiveness. To redress this gap, this review aimed to assess the evidence of effectiveness of interventions for people bereaved by suicide, and appraise the quality of the research in this field.
methodsWe conducted a systematic review according to PRISMA guidelines. Searches of peer-reviewed literature in Medline, PsycINFO, Embase and EBM Reviews identified 12 papers reporting on 11 relevant studies conducted between 1984 and 2018.
resultsAcross studies, there was a wide variety of intervention modalities, study populations, control groups, and grief, psychosocial and suicide-related outcome measures. Overall, the quality of studies was weak. While there was some evidence of the effectiveness of interventions for uncomplicated grief, evidence of the effectiveness of complicated grief interventions was lacking. Based on this scant evidence, interventions which seem to show promise include supportive, therapeutic and educational approaches, involve the social environment of the bereaved, and comprise a series of sessions led by trained facilitators.
conclusionsThere is a clear need for additional methodologically sound studies in this area. Specifically, selection procedures, sample sizes, randomization, and the use of appropriate measures are crucial. As people bereaved by suicide are at-risk of adverse grief, mental ill-health and suicidal behaviour, further research across the life-span is essential to prevent grief and mental health ramifications.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.