Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38229211›Full record

ArticlePalliative medicine2024

Long-term bereavement outcomes in family members of those who died in acute care hospitals before and during the first wave of COVID-19: A cohort study.

Julie Lapenskie, Koby Anderson, Peter G Lawlor, Monisha Kabir, Chelsea Noel, Brandon Heidinger, Henrique A Parsons, Leila Cohen, Valérie Gratton, Ella Besserer and 18 more

Registry-linked trialAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Palliative medicine, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT06953596 (Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation to Treat Prolonged Grief Disorder), which is not on this map. Cited by 3 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

NCT06953596 narecruitingnot on this mapstarted 2025, after this paper: background citation

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation to Treat Prolonged Grief Disorder: A Single-centre, Single-arm, Open-label Phase I/II Proof-of-concept and Feasibility Clinical Trial

TypeinterventionalSponsorBruyère Health Research Institute.Ran2025 to 2027Enrolled15ConditionsProlonged Grief Disorder, Complicated GriefArmsRepetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS)
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

28 authors.

Julie LapenskieOttawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada.ORCID 0000-0002-5358-5685
Koby AndersonOttawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Peter G LawlorBruyère Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada.ORCID 0000-0001-7319-1395
Monisha KabirOttawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada.ORCID 0000-0002-4456-7661
Chelsea NoelOttawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Brandon HeidingerOttawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Henrique A ParsonsDivision of Palliative Care, Department of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Leila CohenDivision of Palliative Care, Department of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Valérie GrattonDivision of Palliative Care, Department of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Ella BessererThe Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Samantha AdeliFaculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Rebekah MurphyDivision of Palliative Care, Department of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Grace WarmelsOttawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Adrianna BruniDivision of Palliative Care, Department of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Khadija BhimjiDivision of Palliative Care, Department of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Claire DyasonDivision of Palliative Care, Department of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Paula EnrightOttawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Isabelle DesjardinsOttawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Krista WoollerOttawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Kyle Arsenault-MehtaFaculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Colleen WebberOttawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada.ORCID 0000-0001-9193-5386
Daniel BedardInstitut du Savoir Montfort, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Akshai IyengarQueensway-Carleton Hospital, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Shirley H BushOttawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Sarina R IsenbergOttawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Peter TanuseputroOttawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada.ORCID 0000-0002-4409-0795
Brandi Vanderspank-WrightOttawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
James DownarOttawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada.ORCID 0000-0001-7479-1560

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundSevere grief is highly distressing and prevalent up to 1 year post-death among people bereaved during the first wave of COVID-19, but no study has assessed changes in grief severity beyond this timeframe.

aimUnderstand the trajectory of grief during the pandemic by reassessing grief symptoms in our original cohort 12-18 months post-death.

designProspective matched cohort study. SETTINGS/

participantsFamily members of decedents who died in an acute care hospital between November 1, 2019 and August 31, 2020 in Ottawa, Canada. Family members of patients who died of COVID (COVID +ve) were matched 2:1 with those who died of non-COVID illness (COVID -ve) during pandemic wave 1 or immediately prior to its onset (pre-COVID). Grief was assessed using the Inventory of Complicated Grief (ICG).

resultsFollow-up assessment was completed by 92% (111/121) of family members in the initial cohort. Mean ICG score on the 12-18-month assessment was 19.9 (SD = 11.8), and severe grief (ICG > 25) was present in 28.8% of participants. One-third (33.3%) had either a persistently high (>25) or worsening ICG score (⩾4-point increase between assessments). Using a modified Poisson regression analysis, persistently high or worsening ICG scores were associated with endotracheal intubation in the deceased, but not cause of death (COVID +ve, COVID -ve, pre-COVID) or physical presence of the family member in the final 48 h of life.

conclusionsSevere grief is a substantial source of psychological morbidity in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, persisting more than a year post-death. Our findings highlight an acute need for effective and scalable means of addressing severe grief.

Indexed as

BereavementCOVID-19Cohort StudiesFamilyGriefHospitalsHumansPandemicsProspective StudiesSurveys and Questionnairesbereavementcohort studiesCOVID-19griefpalliative careprolonged grief disorder

Identifiers

PMID38229211
PMCPMC10865760

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

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.