SynthesisPalliative medicine2020
The impacts and effectiveness of support for people bereaved through advanced illness: A systematic review and thematic synthesis.
Synthesis in Palliative medicine, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 30 papers, 4 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
30 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 70 citations in OpenAlex.
- Family Bereavement Support Interventions in Specialist Adult Palliative Care: A Rapid Mixed-Methods Systematic Review.Journal of advanced nursing · 2026Pooled it
- Screening instruments for early identification of unmet palliative care needs: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMJ supportive & palliative care · 2024Pooled it
- Music therapy for supporting informal carers of adults with life-threatening illness pre- and post-bereavement; a mixed-methods systematic review.BMC palliative care · 2024Pooled it
- What elements of a systems' approach to bereavement are most effective in times of mass bereavement? A narrative systematic review with lessons for COVID-19.Palliative medicine · 2020Pooled it
- Strengthening India's pandemic preparedness with the four zonal institutes of virology: stakeholder consultations for outbreak response and collaborative research priorities.Infectious diseases of poverty · 2026Article
- Participants' Evolving Experiences, Hope, and Coping While Enrolled in a Community-Based Bereavement Support Program: A Pre-Post Mixed-Methods Pilot Study.Current oncology (Toronto, Ont.) · 2026Article
- A nature-based intervention for bereaved friend and family cancer caregivers: a study protocol.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Support needs, support use and perceived helpfulness of support in a cohort of people bereaved during the COVID-19 pandemic: insights from a longitudinal survey.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- "It's a club nobody wanted to join, but we're there": Focus groups on end-of-life care experiences and long-term outcomes of bereaved neuro-oncology caregivers.Palliative care and social practice · 2026Article
- Depression and Complicated Grief among Parents of Pediatric Cancer Patients in Cameroon: Implications for Cancer Education in Low-income Countries.Journal of cancer education : the official journal of the American Association for Cancer Education · 2025Article
- Family expectations of grief care from home health nurses: a scoping review protocol.BMJ open · 2025Article
- Participants' Perceptions of Advantages and Drawbacks of "Drop-In" Versus "Closed-Group" Formats Related to Cancer Bereavement Program Delivery.Current oncology (Toronto, Ont.) · 2025Article
- Grief, bereavement and prolonged grief disorder: scoping and mapping the evidence.BJPsych open · 2025Review
- Evidence adaptation and tailored implementation of family bereavement support in specialised palliative care: A multi-method study.International journal of nursing studies advances · 2025Article
- Exploring the challenges experienced by patients and families using palliative and end-of-life care services: A qualitative focus group study.Palliative & supportive care · 2025Article
- Article
- Death and dying in Ghana: Implications for palliative and end-of-life care.Palliative care and social practice · 2025Review
- A rapid review of the evidence for online interventions for bereavement support.Palliative medicine · 2025Review
- What functions do palliative care bereavement services deliver? A scoping review.Palliative care and social practice · 2025Review
- Developing a best-practice agenda for music therapy research to support informal carers of terminally ill patients pre- and post-death bereavement: a world café approach.BMC palliative care · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundBereavement support is a key component of palliative care, with different types of support recommended according to need. Previous reviews have typically focused on specialised interventions and have not considered more generic forms of support, drawing on different research methodologies.
aimTo review the quantitative and qualitative evidence on the effectiveness and impact of interventions and services providing support for adults bereaved through advanced illness.
designA mixed-methods systematic review was conducted, with narrative synthesis of quantitative results and thematic synthesis of qualitative results. The review protocol is published in PROSPERO ( www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero , CRD42016043530). DATA SOURCES: The databases MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, CINAHL and Social Policy and Practice were searched from 1990 to March 2019. Studies were included which reported evaluation results of bereavement interventions, following screening by two independent researchers. Study quality was assessed using GATE checklists.
resultsA total of 31 studies were included, reporting on bereavement support groups, psychological and counselling interventions and a mix of other forms of support. Improvements in study outcomes were commonly reported, but the quality of the quantitative evidence was generally poor or mixed. Three main impacts were identified in the qualitative evidence, which also varied in quality: 'loss and grief resolution', 'sense of mastery and moving ahead' and 'social support'.
conclusionConclusions on effectiveness are limited by small sample sizes and heterogeneity in study populations, models of care and outcomes. The qualitative evidence suggests several cross-cutting benefits and helps explain the impact mechanisms and contextual factors that are integral to the support.
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What OpenQuestion holds
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.