The emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic has led to a higher number of deaths and subsequent bereavements and has added to the already existing problem of long waiting lists and difficulties in accessing bereavement support. The UK Commission on Bereavement has been set up to address these problems including looking at the infrastructure and access to bereavement support and services.

We aimed to identify key themes affecting bereavement support access and infrastructure, and these contributed to the Commission’s recommendations for policy and bereavement services.

We aimed to also conduct an in-depth analysis to identify inequalities within bereavement service access and infrastructure to better help services to address and improve on these issues. We found that age, gender, ethnicity, or sexual orientation affected many respondents’ access to formal and informal bereavement support as well as the effectiveness, satisfaction, and delivery of services. The report was published in May 2023 - The perceived value of bereavement support and the impact of inequalities on availability and access: Accessing bereavement support | University of Warwick PressLink opens in a new window

We also summarised our findings in a short blog post for Marie Curie, "Bereavement support needs to come in different shapes and sizes"Link opens in a new window

Funded by:	Marie Curie
Research team members:	Dr John MacArtney, Primary Investigator, Warwick Medical School Dr Cath Grimley, Research Fellow, Warwick Medical School
Collaborators:	Marie Curie
Dates:	1st December 2021 to 31st August 2022
External Links	Bereavement CommissionLink opens in a new window

Enquiries:

Dr John I MacArtneyLink opens in a new window

john.macartney@warwick.ac.uk