An Evaluation of a Bereavement Program in a US Research Hospital.
The Bereavement Program at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical Center was established in 2005. The program makes contact with the next of kin on 4 occasions postnotification of death. The objective of this analysis was to evaluate program effectiveness for those individuals who we successfully made contact with on all 4 occasions (N = 39). At 12 months postnotification, the majority viewed the NIH as a source of support (56%), and the frequency of positive emotional ratings increased (59%). There are limitations to this analysis, and biases may be present. In sum, this analysis serves as an example of a successful hospital-based bereavement program that enrolls patients who have been treated at the institution in any capacity who are also patients enrolled in institutional review board-approved research protocols.
Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA clynes@email.sc.edu.
Chelsea
C
Lynes
Pain and Palliative Care Service, National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, Bethesda, MD, USA.
Jayne
J
Phillips
Pain and Palliative Care Service, National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, Bethesda, MD, USA.
Cynthia
C
Keane
Pain and Palliative Care Service, National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, Bethesda, MD, USA.
Danetta
D
Sloan
Pain and Palliative Care Service, National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, Bethesda, MD, USA.
Ann
A
Berger
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001601:Bereavement; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004644:Emotions; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D033062:Friends / Q000523:psychology*; D006739:Hospital Administration / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009316:National Institutes of Health (U.S.); D015397:Program Evaluation; D035842:Research Subjects; D012944:Social Support; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States; D055815:Young Adult
bereavement; grief; loss; program evaluation; research subjects; support