Understanding the grieving process to better care for the relatives of patients who die in the intensive care unit

Abstract

Intensive care unit (ICU) caregivers are regularly confronted with end-of-life and care for the patients’ relatives who will soon be bereaved persons. Bereavement is not a problem nor a pathology: it is a painful and intense period during which the bereaved person adjusts to living without his/her loved-one, while resuming his/her “normal” course of life. However, grieving can sometimes become a more complex process requiring professional help. This text is designed to understand individual grief and its social implications, its course and its mechanisms, but also its potential complications: the knowledge of this process will enable caregivers to understand the bereaved relatives of ICU patients and to attempt to prevent grieving complications associated with the ICU context and the dying and death process.