Effectiveness of a Brief Intervention for Bereaved Individuals

NCT ID: NCT07317622

Last Updated: 2026-01-05

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 100 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2024-10-14
• Study Completion Date: 2025-04-22

Brief Summary

Grief is the response to the death of a loved one. The loss of a loved one requires a grieving process that allows one to adapt to the new situation. The main objective of this study is to identify people in a situation of bereavement who attend nursing consultations in Primary Care on the island of Tenerife, through opportunistic recruitment with the aim of carrying out a brief nursing intervention on those who are classified as being in a situation of bereavement.

Detailed Description

Grief is a complex and multidimensional process involving an emotional, cognitive, behavioral, and spiritual response to loss. From a nursing perspective, it is recognized as important to address this phenomenon holistically, considering the personal, familial, and sociocultural factors that influence its experience. According to the NANDA-I taxonomy, the diagnoses of maladaptive grief, risk for maladaptive grief, and readiness for enhanced grief fall under the coping/stress tolerance domain, reflecting the need for interventions focused on adaptation and emotional well-being.

In the healthcare setting, the primary care nurse plays a key role as the professional who maintains continuous contact with individuals and their families. The nursing intervention Facilitating Grief (NIC 5290) integrates activities such as active listening, therapeutic communication, reality orientation, music therapy, and the use of personal journals. These strategies promote emotional expression, life reorganization, and personal resilience. The use of standardized instruments (such as the Psychosocial Nursing Diagnoses Questionnaire) allows for the identification of risk factors and the planning of evidence-based care.

The proposed secondary objectives are the following: To detect risk factors that may predispose patients attending nursing consultations to maladaptive grief; To understand the usual management of people in a state of grief and their care needs; To design a brief nursing intervention in Primary Care nursing consultations and evaluate its effectiveness; and To raise awareness among Primary Care professionals about grief, its characteristics and approach, through training activities.

The null hypothesis (H0) of this research establishes that, in the studied population, brief nursing intervention does not produce a significant effect on the effectiveness of nursing care in accompanying grief or in preventing its complications.

Conditions

Bereavement

Study Design

• Allocation Method: NA
• Intervention Model: SINGLE_GROUP
• Primary Study Purpose: TREATMENT
• Blinding Strategy: NONE

Study Groups

Participant group

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Facilitating Grief

Intervention Type: OTHER

This intervention, called "Facilitating Grief," begins with an initial nursing assessment using the Psychosocial Nursing Diagnosis Questionnaire (PSDQ), the Relationship Continuity Scale, and an exploration of manifestations related to the grief situation. This initial assessment lasted between one and three hours, depending on the individual. Subsequently, a personalized care plan was established using standardized language, applying the most appropriate interventions for each person experiencing grief. The intervention also includes follow-up through several subsequent consultations (between two and four), in which the care plan is reviewed and adjusted according to the individual's progress, and a final assessment to evaluate the results achieved.

Interventions

Facilitating Grief

This intervention, called "Facilitating Grief," begins with an initial nursing assessment using the Psychosocial Nursing Diagnosis Questionnaire (PSDQ), the Relationship Continuity Scale, and an exploration of manifestations related to the grief situation. This initial assessment lasted between one and three hours, depending on the individual. Subsequently, a personalized care plan was established using standardized language, applying the most appropriate interventions for each person experiencing grief. The intervention also includes follow-up through several subsequent consultations (between two and four), in which the care plan is reviewed and adjusted according to the individual's progress, and a final assessment to evaluate the results achieved.

Intervention Type: OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Be over 18 years old.
• That they answer affirmatively to at least one of the following two questions:

Have you lost a loved one in the last year? Are you grieving the loss of a loved one?

• After being informed, agree to participate in the study and sign the informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria

• People with language barriers.
• People with cognitive impairment.
• People with severe sensory deficits.
• People with a history of anxiety disorders, diagnosed severe depression, or other problems (emotional, coping, etc.) that prevent them from participating in the collection of information necessary for this study.

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

Servicio Canario de Salud

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Responsibility Role: SPONSOR

Locations

Gerencia Atención Primaria Tenerife

Santa Cruz de Tenerife, , Spain

Countries

Spain

Other Identifiers

CHUC_2024_91

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id