SCYP - Supporting children and young people pre-bereavement
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The development of evidence-based good practice guidelines and resources to support children and young people pre-bereavement
IRAS ID
250268
Contact name
Richard Harding
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
King's College London
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 9 months, 31 days
Research summary
Working with dying patients who have children under 18 can be particularly challenging for all health care professionals. Parents will often be very worried about their children, may have avoided talking to them about their death and will ask for advice from their healthcare team. Professionals who are inexperienced in this situation may avoid the issue, or encourage parents to protect the children by not being open about what is happening. Some health and social care professionals feel inexperienced working with children and have concerns that they will say something inappropriate or damaging. This lack of confidence may have a damaging effect upon children, may influence their final interactions with their dying parent and may have a detrimental impact on how they cope in bereavement.
There is little information or advice for professionals working with dying patients who have children under 18. Any guidance is not based on evidence or research, simply the opinion of experts in the area. There is very little research that has included children or young people, and their voices are therefore rarely heard. We would therefore like to conduct three phases of research:
• PHASE 1: a review of the existing research on children and young people’s experiences and needs pre- and post-bereavement.
• PHASE 2: interviews with children and young people who are facing a bereavement or have been recently bereaved. Due to the sensitivity of the subject matter, all interviews will be conducted by a clinical researcher experienced in working with bereaved children.
• PHASE 3: development of good practice guidelines for any health or social care professional working with a dying patient who has a child under 18. This will include the development of free resources to be used with children and young people facing a parental bereavement.REC name
London - Bloomsbury Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
19/LO/0234
Date of REC Opinion
11 Mar 2019
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion