Psychosocial Correlates of Death Anxiety in Advanced Cancer: A Scoping Review.

Objectives: Individuals living with advanced cancer commonly experience death anxiety, which refers to the distressing thoughts or feelings associated with awareness of one's mortality. Deriving an overview of existing literature on the psychological and social factors linked to death anxiety may inform conceptual models, clinical screening, and intervention strategies in oncology and palliative care. Therefore, the present scoping review was conducted to summarize the current literature on the psychosocial correlates of death anxiety among individuals with advanced cancer.

Critical care providers' support of families in bereavement: a mixed-methods study.

Purpose: When people die in intensive care units (ICUs), as many as half of their family members may experience a severe grief reaction. While families report a need for bereavement support, most ICUs do not routinely follow-up with family members. Clinicians are typically involved in supporting families during death and dying, yet little is known about how they work with families in bereavement.

Prolonged grief and the disruption of meaning: Establishing a mediation model.

This study aimed to test the hypothesis that meaning making is a mediating process in the relationship between risk factors for prolonged grief disorder (PGD) and subsequent emergence of PGD symptomatology. A survey design was employed with prospective measurement of PGD. The following variables were assessed 2-12 months postloss among adults across North America and Europe (N = 357): (a) risk factors for PGD (insecure attachment, social support, neuroticism, violent loss, and spousal loss) and (b) meaning made.

Rumination moderates the role of meaning in the development of prolonged grief symptomatology.

Objective: To address the etiology of prolonged grief disorder (PGD) by examining whether rumination moderates the role of meaning-making in mediating the impact of PGD risk factors.

Method: A survey assessing PGD risk factors (low social support, insecure attachment, violent loss, neuroticism, and loss of a spouse), meaning, and rumination was administered 2-12 months postloss among adults across North America and Europe (mean age = 44.3, 71.

OA8 Caring for the family caregiver: working with volunteers to implement and improve a service to enable family caregivers to maintain their own wellbeing.

Background: Family caregivers suffer physically, mentally, and spiritually. Community volunteers play an important role in supporting patients at the end of life or former caregivers in bereavement. However, there are no research reports of volunteer services focused on maintaining the wellbeing of end-of-life caregivers.

Reconstructing Meaning with Others in Loss: A Feasibility Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial of a Bereavement Group.

More effective psychosocial interventions that target uncomplicated bereavement are needed for those actively seeking support. The objective of this study was to assess the feasibility of evaluating a unique meaning-based group counseling (MBGC) intervention with a randomized controlled trial (RCT) design. Twenty-six bereft individuals were randomly assigned to either MBGC or a control bereavement support group.

Meaning-based group counseling for bereavement: bridging theory with emerging trends in intervention research.

A growing body of scholarship has evaluated the usefulness of meaning-based theories in the context of bereavement counseling. Although scholars have discussed the application of meaning-based theories for individual practice, there is a lack of inquiry regarding its implications when conducting bereavement support groups. The objective of this article is to bridge meaning-based theories with bereavement group practice, leading to a novel intervention and laying the foundation for future efficacy studies.

How do researchers conceive of spousal grief after cancer? A systematic review of models used by researchers to study spousal grief in the cancer context.

Background: Although spouses bereaved after cancer are considered vulnerable people, there have been few empirical studies to explore grief specifically in this context.

Methods: Using PsycINFO, Medline, and the PRISMA statement, we systematically searched the literature by intersecting 'cancer' and 'grie*', 'cancer' and 'bereave*', and 'cancer' and 'mourn*'.

Results: Gathering 76 studies (2000-2013) that met the inclusion criteria for bereavement in adulthood, bereavement of an adult loved one and evidence-based research, we found the following: Spousal relationships are not systematically examined in the current dominant models of grief.

Applying feminist, multicultural, and social justice theory to diverse women who function as caregivers in end-of-life and palliative home care.

Objective: Women are largely responsible for providing care to terminally ill family members at home. The goal of this review is to conceptualize diverse women's experiences in palliative home care from feminist, multicultural, and social justice perspectives.

Methods: Peer-reviewed manuscripts were identified using the following databases: CIMAHL, psycINFO, and pubMED.