La atención al duelo en Cuidados Paliativos. Análisis de los servicios prestados en España

This study extends and complements the information on the performance of Spanish palliative care teams, and provides a radiograph of them. Most teams provide continued bereavement care before and after death. Before the death, the priority is care in form of accompaniment focused on all the families, while counseling and specific therapeutic intervention is given to the families that request care, and especially to those with risk factors. The psychologists were the health professionals most involved in care in the grieving process. To improve the care provided, standardized criteria or protocols need to be established, as well as an increase in specific bereavement care programs. The performance of the various professionals involved also need to be defined in order to improve monitoring and to analyze the effectiveness of the intervention in mourning.