A position paper published in The Lancet Public Health emphasizes the need for health care institutions to prioritize bereavement care as a public health priority. The paper highlights the lack of continuity of care for bereaved individuals after a person dies in palliative or end-of-life care settings, leading to feelings of abandonment and increased risk for morbidity and mortality. The authors stress the importance of integrating bereavement care into the health care system, starting before the patient’s death, and providing different levels of support based on individual needs. Oncologists are encouraged to play a role in providing bereavement care, but systemic changes are needed to make this a public health priority, including funding for research, training for health care personnel, and building resources into institutions to support grievers at the appropriate level of need.
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Bereavement care, often an ‘afterthought,’ should be public health priority
