Congress Abstracts 2003

3

A MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACH TO CREATING A BEREAVEMENT PROGRAM IN A TERTIARY HOSPITAL SETTING. Barbara Cashavelly, MSN, RN, AOCN^®, Jennifer Tenhover, MSN, RN, BS, AOCN^®, and Constance Dahlin, MSN, RN, BC, CHPN, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA.

Purpose: The purpose of this project is to develop a multidisciplinary bereavement program that will offer emotional, spiritual, and educational support to patients, families, and staff during the dying process and into the period of bereavement.

Background: A critical component of cancer care is the management of grief and bereavement for patients, families, and staff. Bereavement counseling and support assists with adjustment to loss and grief. Although many hospice programs and self-help groups provide bereavement support, formal bereavement programs in large tertiary hospital settings are limited. Through patient care rounds, providers at the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center identified the need for improved bereavement care. This presented an opportunity to develop and implement a formal bereavement program.

Intervention: A multidisciplinary bereavement task force was formed by a group of oncology nurses. The members of the task force include nurses, physicians, social workers, chaplains, and palliative care staff from various practice settings. Within the larger task force, subgroups were created and have focused efforts on six areas: 1) development of a mission statement, 2) benchmarking, 3) development of a death registry and tracking system, 4) needs assessment of bereaved families, 5) needs assessment of staff, and 6) development of practice standards.

Evaluation: A formal bereavement program will be developed utilizing the subgroup findings. The mission statement is guiding the development process. Information has been compiled from 22 inpatient units regarding current bereavement practices. Focus groups are being planned to assess the needs of bereaved families. Finally, a death registry is being piloted in one of the oncology disease centers.

Discussion: The Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center staff is developing a bereavement program for care of bereaved patients and families. This program also will address the educational needs of staff in providing bereavement support. Oncology nurses have a direct impact on patients and families in bereavement assessment and care. Implementing this program in a tertiary hospital setting will establish standards of care for bereavement support and ultimately improve care for families during the dying process and into the bereavement period.