A New Text-Based Approach to Delivering Quality Bereavement Care (Conference Presentation)

Hospice Palliative Care Ontario
14 June 2026

Hospice bereavement programs face significant barriers: staff shortages, difficulty reaching hard-to-reach populations (older adults, men, rural communities, non-English speakers), geographic and transportation limitations, and low engagement with traditional outreach methods like voicemails and mailers. Consequently, only a small percentage of grieving family members who need support actually receive it. This presentation introduces an innovative solution: Help Texts, a clinically sound text-based grief support program that meets people where they are. Grounded in contemporary grief and coping models and aligned with a public health approach to bereavement care, Help Texts delivers ongoing support, information, and encourages adaptive coping behaviors via text messages offered as a hospice benefit. Attendees will hear compelling research data demonstrating high retention rates, strong satisfaction scores, and particularly positive outcomes among traditionally underserved populations, including older adults and men. These findings suggest text-based grief support effectively overcomes traditional barriers and offers an accessible, equitable, and impactful way to expand quality bereavement care.