Balancing roles: Teaching staff's dilemma in supporting bereaved college students.

This study examines the challenges faced by teaching staff in supporting bereaved college students. A three-year study was conducted in Danish colleges, involving focus groups and 1-on-1 interviews with 18 teachers from five collaborating colleges, situated in all main regions of Denmark. The research aimed to understand the role of college teaching staff in providing support during critical illness and death. Findings reveal an absence of clear structures, leaving teaching staff uncertain about their responsibilities. Challenges include inconsistent engagement, difficulty identifying bereaved students, and the need for more time, support structures, and training. Clear guidelines are essential to empower teaching staff in effectively assisting bereaved students. Providing support, resources, and training will enhance student well-being and enable teachers to fulfill their support roles confidently.

When Young Children Grieve: Perspectives from Day Care Staff on Supporting Parents and Children through Illness and Loss.

This study explores how Danish day care institutions provide support to bereaved families based on accounts from staff members. Through eight focus groups, 23 employees from 8 day care institutions were interviewed. Subsequently, using thematic analysis, five themes were generated. These were: (1) coping with critical illness at the institution, (2) supporting parents at the time of death, (3) how day care institutions structured their response to illness and bereavement, (4) the staff's support needs and (5) advice for other staff and parents in a similar situation. The study finds that when a life-threatening illness and/or death enters the life of a child who attends day care, staff have a strong belief that their role is to support both child and parent(s). However, staff often perceive this as a difficult task and express the need for more guidance on how to provide support.

Psychotropic medication among children who experience parental death to cancer.

The psychological consequences of losing a parent to cancer are unclear. We investigated whether experiencing parental death to cancer before 18 years of age increases the risk of psychotropic medication. We used register data of all children born in Denmark between 1 January 1987 and 31 December 2016 (N = 1,488,846). We assessed rate ratios (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for first redeemed prescription of antidepressants, anxiolytics and hypnotics according to parental death status using Poisson multi-state models. We further examined whether the associations differed according to the gender of the deceased parent, child's age at the time of death or the parental length of illness. Cancer-bereaved children had a significantly increased risk of first prescription of psychotropic medication (rate ratio, RR 1.22, 95% confidence interval, CI 1.10-1.34 for males; RR 1.18, 95% CI 1.09-1.28 for females). Associations were strongest if the parent had the same sex as the child and if the parent died within one year of diagnosis. The risk was highest during the first six months after the loss (RR 2.35, 95% confidence interval, CI 1.48-3.73 for males; RR 1.81, 95% CI 1.17-2.80 for females). Children who lose a parent to cancer, particularly in cases when the disease progressed quickly, may need extra psychological support, especially during the first six months after the death.

When young children grieve: Supporting daycare children following bereavement-A parent's perspective.

Thirteen parents who lost the mother or father to their child were interviewed, using semi-structured interviews. Participants reflect on their young children's (3-6) grief, support needs, and what they learned from this trying time. The event scarred all participants. While some moved on, others were still struggling years after. The study uncovers difficulties associated with informing a young child, with a limfited understanding of illness and loss, in a life-situation where parents themselves are clinging to hope. While support is available from daycare, it can be better organised and structured. Proactive support that assists the child through illness and death relieves the parental care burden.

Voices We Forget-Danish Students Experience of Returning to School Following Parental Bereavement.

This study explores how Danish students experience returning to school following parental bereavement. Eighteen focus group interviews with 39 participants aged 9 to 17 years were conducted. All participants had experienced the loss of a primary caregiver. Data collection was divided into two phases. In Phase I, 22 participants from four grief groups were interviewed 4 times over the course of a year. During Phase II, confirmatory focus groups were undertaken with the 17 participants. This article explores findings related to the four themes of initial school response, long-term support, challenges within the class, and academic challenges. The study found that (a) students struggle to reconnect with classmates following the return to school and often feel alone, (b) schools fail to have guidelines in place for what they are allowed to do if becoming sad the class, and (c) schools seem to forget their loss as time passes.

Voices that want to be heard: Using bereaved Danish students suggestions to update school bereavement response plans.

This study explored how Danish students experienced returning to school following parental bereavement. Eighteen focus group interviews were conducted with 39 participants aged 9 to 17. All participants had experienced the loss of a primary caregiver. Data collection was divided into two phases. In Phase I, 22 participants from four grief groups were interviewed 4 times over the course of a year. During Phase II, confirmatory focus groups were undertaken with the 17 participants. This article explores the findings related to ideas and suggestions made by the students about how the Danish school response could be improved to better meet their needs. The presentation of data is divided into seven themes, which are: Desired school response; Desired support from teachers; Desired boundaries between students and teachers; Desired collaboration; Desired support from peers; Desired rules and structure, and; Desires related to gifts and rituals. Study findings indicate that most students want to be included and have a say when the school plans how to respond to their loss. Students further highlight a need for teacher support when having to reconnect with the class; a need for set rules in relation to leaving the class when feeling sad, and; a need for schools to see the loss as a life-changing event, and grief as something that does not simply disappear after a few months. The article concludes by discussing the ways in which the recommendations provided by the participants can be incorporated into a modern revision of Danish school bereavement response plans.

Towards a model of loss navigation in adolescence.

Researchers today consider childhood bereavement one of the most traumatic experiences that can befall a child. Nevertheless, most models of bereavement currently limit themselves to dealing with adult grief and primarily explores the internal processes associated with recovery. Based on a study which conducted focus groups with 39 Danish adolescents (aged 9-17), this article presents The Model of Loss Navigation in Adolescence. Centered on the three factors-Being Different, Being in Control, and Being in Grief-the model highlight the social conventions children have to navigate and how these influences both their day-to-day lives and their road to recovery.