COVID-19, Prolonged Grief Disorder and the role of social work
Open accessAbstract
The death rate that we are seeing from COVID-19 is unimaginable, with experts predicting the pandemic will ultimately claim hundreds of thousands of lives. The death toll has already far exceeded the total population of renown cities such as Miami, USA or Canberra, Australia. Behind each death listed as a statistic, there is a social network of family and friends who will be profoundly impacted by the loss. The usual funerals, rituals and customs that occur after a death are now the new casualty of the virus. Indisputably, restrictions are necessary to curb the spread; however, concerns are raised regarding how this will impede on the ‘normal’ grieving process. Undoubtedly, there will be a surge in persons developing bereavement complexities in future years, with a direct correlated link to COVID-19.
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Restrictions may further exacerbate distress as family and friends are unable to say goodbye to loved ones in a way that satisfies their personal, cultural or religious practices.
“Restrictions may further exacerbate distress as family and friends are unable to say goodbye to loved ones in a way that satisfies their personal, cultural or religious practices (Johns et al., 2020).”
From Living through lockdown: A qualitative exploration of individuals' experiences in the UK. (2022) · cites this paper as Johns et al., 2020
The Abstract says COVID-19 restrictions disrupt funerals, rituals and customs and may impede normal grieving for family and friends. It does not specifically say that people cannot say goodbye in ways that satisfy their personal, cultural or religious practices; the available copy contains no article body beyond the abstract. (LLM, conf=0.78)
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- Authors
- Johns, L., Blackburn, P., & McAuliffe, D.
- Affiliations
- Griffith University (AU)
- Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District (AU)
- Corresponding author
- Johns, Lise
- Venue
- International Social Work
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2020-07-23
- Volume
- 63
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 660-664
- ISSN
- 0020-8728 (ISSN-L)
- 1461-7234
- OpenAlex
- W3045409622
- Cited by
- 43
- References
- 7
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 15 · 2020: 2
- FWCI
- 3.08
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- International Social Work (publishedVersion)
- Griffith Research Online (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › COVID-19 and Mental Health
- Social Sciences › Anthropology › Death, Funerary Practices, and Mourning
- Keywords
- COVID-19 pandemic, prolonged grief disorder, bereavement, grief, social work, death and dying, funeral restrictions, pandemic impact on families
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