A report has been published by Leeds and Sheffield universities on UK bereavement care for ethnic minority communities to determine ease of access, what the support consists of and the resultant outcomes.
The current lack of data on the services available means that unfortunately providers do not know how support should be delivered to ensure they are suitable for different groups of people.
The study revealed a lack of awareness about bereavement care for ethnic minority communities among health professionals. Access to interpreters and psychological support varied. Two-thirds of the palliative care teams surveyed did not provide any form of bereavement support.
Researchers concluded that people representing these communities need to be involved in the development and delivery of these services, ensuring that groups get the support they need.
Dr Catriona Mayland, University of Sheffield, first author and research co-lead:
“There is a need to understand the role in bereavement care played by families, friends, faith and community-based support groups. Additionally, it is only by adopting a true partnership approach that we can understand what type, and in what way, bereavement care should be provided.
This will enable better support for those experiencing grief from ethnic minority communities.”
The paper, Bereavement care for ethnic minority communities: A systematic review of access to, models of, outcomes from, and satisfaction with, service provision, is published in PLOS ONE.
