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Grief and bereavement programming to support family members following the death of a loved one is a critical component of hospice palliative care. But barriers related to cost, client participation, and staffing constraints exist in some settings. To address some of these barriers, a text-based grief support program, called Grief Coach, was developed.
Grief Coach is text-based program designed to provide bereavement care and increase grief literacy through twice-weekly text support, education, tips and reminders to people who are grieving (“grievers”) as well as individuals who want to support them (“supporters”). Both griever and supporter message integrate five major intervention strategies:
- Psychoeducation – messages include topics such as the effects of grief on the brain and types of grieving styles.
- Acknowledgement and Validation – messages articulate what the bereaved may be thinking and feeling and reinforce that those experiences are common.
- Emotional and Instrumental Support – message remind users of access to support services and encourage users to reach out to family, friends and professionals as needed.
- Coping Skills – messages draw from evidence-based therapies such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Grief Work – messages support the process of working through the death of a significant person and adapting to life without them.
Texts are reviewed by a Fellow in Thanatology with 15 years of hospice bereavement experience, who ensures that the messages are aligned with theory and best practices. The texts are then reviewed by an experienced grief educator, for tone and grammatical correctness.
Levesque and colleagues (2023) conducted an evaluation of the Grief Coach program to learn whether, why, and how bereaved program subscribers from hospice found the program helpful.
Grievers from 5 hospices in the United States that provided the Grief Coach program participated in this program. The evaluation included system data related to program retention, and a survey of subscribers related to the helpfulness and supportiveness of the program.
A total of 123 subscribers had registered for the program 13 or more months prior to the evaluation and were included in the analysis of program retention. Among this group, the 13-month program retention rate was 86%.
A total of 154 subscribers met the eligibility criteria and were invited to complete the survey on helpfulness and supportiveness of the program. Of this group, 100 completed the program rating questions and 63 provided additional written comments. Among survey respondents, 73% rated the program as very helpful, and 74% rated it as contributing to their sense of being supported in their grief. Written comments aligned with four categories:
- general appreciation for the program
- program features
- program content
- how the program might be improved
The findings suggest that Grief Coach may be a beneficial component to complement existing hospice grief programming.
Source: Levesque, D. A., Lunardini, M. M., Payne, E. L., & Callison-Burch, V. (2023). Grief Coach, a text-based grief support intervention: acceptability among hospice family members. OMEGA-Journal of Death and Dying, 00302228231159450.
