Grief, bereavement and prolonged grief disorder: scoping and mapping the evidence
Background Some individuals experience abnormally persistent and intense symptoms of grief that significantly interfere with daily functioning. This condition has been described using terms such as complicated or prolonged grief and prolonged grief disorder (PGD). Aims To identify the availabili...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Cambridge University Press
2025-07-01
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| Series: | BJPsych Open |
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| Online Access: | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2056472425100501/type/journal_article |
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| author | Gary Raine Claire Khouja Meena Khatwa Helen Fulbright Katy Sutcliffe Amanda J. Sowden |
| author_facet | Gary Raine Claire Khouja Meena Khatwa Helen Fulbright Katy Sutcliffe Amanda J. Sowden |
| author_sort | Gary Raine |
| collection | DOAJ |
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Background
Some individuals experience abnormally persistent and intense symptoms of grief that significantly interfere with daily functioning. This condition has been described using terms such as complicated or prolonged grief and prolonged grief disorder (PGD).
Aims
To identify the availability of evidence addressing a range of policy relevant issues related to grief, bereavement and PGD. In this paper we focus on the availability of evidence from systematic reviews.
Method
We searched 12 databases and the websites of 18 grief- or bereavement-related organisations. Using key characteristics extracted from included reviews, we produced a high-level overview of the available evidence that enabled potential research gaps to be identified.
Results
We identified 212 reviews – 103 focused on people’s experiences of grief/bereavement including service use; 22 reported on PGD prevalence, 42 on PGD risk factors, 37 on factors that influence grief more broadly and 80 on the effectiveness of grief-related interventions. Fifty-five reviews focused on multiple issues of interest. Half of reviews focused on a specific cause/type of death (n = 108). Of these reviews, most focused on three main causes/types of death: a specific health condition or terminal illness (n = 36), perinatal loss (n = 34) and suicide (n = 20).
Conclusions
We identified a large number of reviews, but key evidence gaps exist, particularly in relation to intervention cost-effectiveness and social, organisational or structural-level interventions that are needed for addressing inequities and other modifiable factors that can impair grieving and potentially increase the risk of PGD.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-9ece5521045d4e1ca5a5c9cd0449a60d |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2056-4724 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BJPsych Open |
| spelling | doaj-art-9ece5521045d4e1ca5a5c9cd0449a60d2025-08-20T02:35:56ZengCambridge University PressBJPsych Open2056-47242025-07-011110.1192/bjo.2025.10050Grief, bereavement and prolonged grief disorder: scoping and mapping the evidenceGary Raine0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0354-0518Claire Khouja1Meena Khatwa2Helen Fulbright3Katy Sutcliffe4Amanda J. Sowden5Centre for Reviews and Dissemination, University of York, UKCentre for Reviews and Dissemination, University of York, UKEPPI-Centre, Social Science Research Unit, UCL Institute of Education, University College London, UKCentre for Reviews and Dissemination, University of York, UKEPPI-Centre, Social Science Research Unit, UCL Institute of Education, University College London, UKCentre for Reviews and Dissemination, University of York, UK Background Some individuals experience abnormally persistent and intense symptoms of grief that significantly interfere with daily functioning. This condition has been described using terms such as complicated or prolonged grief and prolonged grief disorder (PGD). Aims To identify the availability of evidence addressing a range of policy relevant issues related to grief, bereavement and PGD. In this paper we focus on the availability of evidence from systematic reviews. Method We searched 12 databases and the websites of 18 grief- or bereavement-related organisations. Using key characteristics extracted from included reviews, we produced a high-level overview of the available evidence that enabled potential research gaps to be identified. Results We identified 212 reviews – 103 focused on people’s experiences of grief/bereavement including service use; 22 reported on PGD prevalence, 42 on PGD risk factors, 37 on factors that influence grief more broadly and 80 on the effectiveness of grief-related interventions. Fifty-five reviews focused on multiple issues of interest. Half of reviews focused on a specific cause/type of death (n = 108). Of these reviews, most focused on three main causes/types of death: a specific health condition or terminal illness (n = 36), perinatal loss (n = 34) and suicide (n = 20). Conclusions We identified a large number of reviews, but key evidence gaps exist, particularly in relation to intervention cost-effectiveness and social, organisational or structural-level interventions that are needed for addressing inequities and other modifiable factors that can impair grieving and potentially increase the risk of PGD. https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2056472425100501/type/journal_articleGriefbereavementprolonged grief disorderscoping reviewevidence map |
| spellingShingle | Gary Raine Claire Khouja Meena Khatwa Helen Fulbright Katy Sutcliffe Amanda J. Sowden Grief, bereavement and prolonged grief disorder: scoping and mapping the evidence BJPsych Open Grief bereavement prolonged grief disorder scoping review evidence map |
| title | Grief, bereavement and prolonged grief disorder: scoping and mapping the evidence |
| title_full | Grief, bereavement and prolonged grief disorder: scoping and mapping the evidence |
| title_fullStr | Grief, bereavement and prolonged grief disorder: scoping and mapping the evidence |
| title_full_unstemmed | Grief, bereavement and prolonged grief disorder: scoping and mapping the evidence |
| title_short | Grief, bereavement and prolonged grief disorder: scoping and mapping the evidence |
| title_sort | grief bereavement and prolonged grief disorder scoping and mapping the evidence |
| topic | Grief bereavement prolonged grief disorder scoping review evidence map |
| url | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2056472425100501/type/journal_article |
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