Understanding grief in a time of COVID-19 - a hypothetical approach to
challenges and support
Abstract
This article develops preliminary understandings of loss and grief at
both an individual and collective level following the COVID-19 outbreak.
By examining relevant media and academic discourses, the authors analyse
and envisage challenges and support for those experiencing loss during
COVID-19. The discussion revisits and further relocates the ideas of
good and bad deaths in the context of increased social constrains and
inequalities. Further, two pairs of contrasting hypotheses are proposed
to examine the impacts of COVID-19 on both bereaved individuals and
society as a whole during and post the outbreak. The discussion captures
a mixed picture of grief and bereavement, which highlights the
importance of timely, holistic and continuous support. It is found that
individual and collectives express diverse needs to respond to deaths
and losses as a process of meaning-making. Further the significance of
socio-cultural environments also become evident. These findings
highlight community support during COVID-19 and further promote a grief
literate culture as imperative to support individual and collective
needs when confronted with loss and grief. This article provides timely
and comprehensive accounts of possible challenges and support both for
individual and collective experiences of loss and grief. These
understandings could facilitate further research, informing better
practice and policy decisions to support the bereaved in the context of
COVID-19 and other disruptive world events.