Supporting bereaved people: a qualitative study on the experience ofinformal support providers, before and during the pandemic scenario

Abstract

The COVID-19 outbreak has further highlighted the need to strengthen support networks tosustain grieving people. However, we know very little about the experience of those who,because of their emotional connection with the bereaved person or of their social function,find themselves supporting people in grief. The current study aimed to analyze the experi-ence of grievers’informal support providers (relatives and friends, teachers, religious leaders,funeral providers, pharmacists, volunteers, and social service workers). 162 in-depth inter-views were collected (meanage¼42.3,SD¼14.9; women¼63.6%). Findings highlight twodifferent ways of talking about one’s experience and two different ways of offering support.Such dissimilarities do not relate to the period in which support was offered (before or dur-ing the pandemic). The results will be discussed in order to highlight emerging trainingneeds to support bereaved people in their difficult transition