Coping with recent COVID-19 deaths: A Qualitative Study with Grieving Family Members in Italy

Background: Loss maladjustment, often associated with increased psychological and physical health issues, could represent a risk in COVID-19 mourners due to the unexpected and violent conditions characterizing COVID-19 deaths. This is the first study to explore and differentiate among bereavement experiences of family members who have lost a significant other to COVID-19. Methods: Twenty individuals bereaved by COVID-19’s first wave in Lombardy region, one of the earliest and most serious clusters worldwide, were interviewed between 1 and 3 months after their loss. Thematic analysis was carried out through the software ATLAS.ti8. Participants (15 F, 5 M) were mourning a parent (16), a spouse (1) or a grandparent (3). Findings: Five themes were identified: illness trajectories of COVID-19 patients; coping with the loss; resources; COVID-19 impact on mourners’ lives; and looking forward. Mourners considering their loved one’s departure as premature and unjust experienced a totaling anger: instead of undergoing a sense-making process, they focused all their attention on denouncing institutions and looking for culprits. Administration’s mismanagement determined a widespread lack of trust in health professionals, also affecting mourners’ search for psychological help. Participants relied mainly on virtual informal support, but the limitations of telematic-only support in the long-term emerged. Acceptance occurred particularly in those able to find alternative ways to share their grief and use it as a turning point. Discussion: The peculiar characteristics of COVID-19 deaths can amplify individual differences in the start of a meaning-making process. Results propose new insights for COVID-19 grief support within the meaning-making model.