Family Grief Support in the ICU: A Qualitative Study of Multidisciplinary Provider Perspectives

Background Families of critically ill patients frequently experience intense grief and psychological distress in the intensive care unit (ICU). Bereavement support can mitigate prolonged grief, anxiety, depression, and PTSD, yet interventions are inconsistent and rarely multidisciplinary across a wide range of disciplines. Purpose To explore multidisciplinary ICU providers’ perceptions, experiences, and recommendations regarding family member grief at the bedside in the ICU. Design Semi-structured interviews were performed with 20 ICU providers, including registered nurses, physicians, nurse practitioners, respiratory therapists, and hospital chaplains. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using thematic analysis to identify patterns related to perceived needs, recommendations, and barriers to communication. Results 3 main themes emerged: (1) Perceived Grief Needs : families require clear, consistent communication and emotional/spiritual support; (2) Recommendations : participants emphasized system-wide improvements, peer modeling, and targeted education to enhance grief care; (3) Barriers to Effective Grief Communication : structural constraints, message delivery failures, misunderstandings, and intense family emotions hindered support. Conclusion Participants identified that grief in the ICU is shaped by negative emotions, ineffective communication, and systemic structures. Findings underscore the need for structured palliative communication training and plain-language messaging, while persistent gaps point to the importance of future interdisciplinary interventions that embed these practices into routine ICU care and evaluate their impact on family outcomes, clinician well-being, and culture change.