Towards a Nuanced Understanding of Grief in Contemporary Sweden

• The purpose of this study was to examine the individual variations of grief in contemporary Sweden and to identify both existing and sought-after support measures for individuals experiencing grief. A survey was distributed that dealt with feelings, support, experiences of grief. The survey was answered by 255 people (181 = women; 74 = men). Some respondents experienced the loss as expected and some experienced it as unexpected. The results of the survey point to differences as well as similarities in terms of feelings, forms of support, strategies for dealing with grief and need for support, depending on how the death occurred. Research in person-centered care has observed that individual uniqueness and active listening constitute fundamental components. This insight also holds significance within the framework of support interventions for individuals experiencing grief. Despite criticism in academia for the lack of evidence for its effectiveness, normative models for grief stubbornly persist both in popular imagination and among health care professionals. Such assumptions have contributed to medicalizing and pathologizing what research has shown to be natural responses to loss for the vast majority of bereaved individuals. For person-centered care to effectively function as a strategy for promoting human well-being, on both an individual and a societal level, it is imperative that we develop an understanding of well-being in the terms articulated and expressed by individuals. Everyone, sooner or later, encounters losses and lives with grief. However, particularly within the healthcare domain, grief frequently remains concealed and inadequately addressed and may be misconstrued as ill-health and disease, potentially resulting in medical intervention. Therefore, it is of utmost importance that healthcare professionals possess a comprehensive understanding of natural grief.

Subject headings

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Annan medicin och hälsovetenskap (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Other Medical and Health Sciences (hsv//eng)

Publication and Content Type

vet (subject category)

kon (subject category)