Hospice Disease Types Which Indicate a Greater Need for Bereavement Counseling

Abstract

This article attempts to find a correlation between certain disease types and increased needs for bereavement services for survivors. Data were examined from those requesting increased bereavement services from a hospice provider in Kentucky, over a 2-year span. The survivors were then matched with the disease type of their loved one to see whether there was a connection between the two. Although limited in its scope and focus, the study revealed that patients surviving Alzheimer disease, lung cancer, and renal failure consistently (at least 50% of the time) required increased bereavement services after the death of their loved one. Other disease types indicated more erratic patterns for increased grief services.