This study aimed to elucidate the grief experiences of Brazilian COVID-19 bereaved adults by exploring both helpful and unhelpful experiencesSemi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 participants, and the data were analyzed using Thematic Analysis. Four themes emerged: (1) healthcare experiences, (2) circumstances of death, (3) the grief experience, and (4) dissatisfaction with COVID-19 crisis management. The themes revealed that the quality of hospital care, including both positive and negative interactions with healthcare professionals, shaped perceptions of death. Experiencing the death as sudden and constraints on visitation and restrictions on farewell rituals were reported to negatively affect the grief experience. Many participants expressed dissatisfaction with political crisis management and believed the death could have been prevented. These findings highlight the potential impact of circumstances surrounding COVID-19-related deaths on the grief experience, underscoring the need for clinical interventions and public health policies to optimize end-of-life and bereavement care during pandemics.
Bolaséll et al. (Wed,) studied this question.