A New Text-Based Approach to Delivering Quality Bereavement Care for Donor Families (Conference Presentation)
Dr. Melissa Lunardini, Chief Clinical Officer, Help Texts Michele, Rosdahl, Donor Family Aftercare Manager, DCI Donor Services
Association of Organ Procurement Organizations (AOPO) Annual Meeting
25 June 2024
Professional and community support during bereavement is in short supply and can be difficult to access (Aoun et al., 2020). Only a minority of grievers are extremely satisfied with the support they receive (Cacciatore et al., 2021). Researchers and bereavement professionals are seeking innovative low-cost, high-reach forms of support to meet grievers’ needs (Supiano et al., 2021; Zuelke et al., 2021). This presentation will report on grievers’ perceptions of the acceptability and helpfulness of Grief Coach, an innovative, ongoing, expert, text-based grief support service aligned with a public health approach to bereavement care. The messages, grounded in contemporary models of grief and coping, provide support, information, and encourage engagement in adaptive coping behaviors. Participants in the evaluation were bereaved family members who received Grief Coach as a benefit from DCI Donor Services.