Abstract

The large number of deaths due to COVID-19 has resulted in a similarly high number of people experiencing grief. The aim of this qualitative study was to understand patterns of grief and bereavement following a COVID death. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with individuals who had lost someone close to them to COVID (N = 32). Thematic analysis was used to identify themes and patterns. Participants described specific features of COVID as well as the interdependence within the community that shaped their unique experiences of grieving a COVID death. These unique experiences, in turn, led to disruptions in coping and moving on from the death due to the long psychological tail of COVID and foreignness of the loss to others. Overall, participants in this study described a grieving process that was unsupported, protracted, and in some cases, ongoing years after the death. Taken together, these findings suggest the potential usefulness of targeted interventions to address the unique psychological factors in grieving a COVID death.

Committee Chair

Brian D. Carpenter, Ph.D.

Committee Members

Denise Head, Ph.D., Patrick Hill, Ph.D.

Degree

Master of Arts (AM/MA)

Author's Department

Psychology

Author's School

Graduate School of Arts and Sciences

Document Type

Thesis

Date of Award

Winter 12-18-2024

Language

English (en)

Author's ORCID

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2082-5523

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