Nurses' Grief Counseling for Bereaved Family Members of COVID-19 Patients in Wuhan, China: A Cross-Sectional Survey

Kong, Chan; Tan, Lingling; Gao, Xudong; Fan, Hongru; Zhang, Juan; Wang, Zhimin; Wang, Jing

This is the first study to assess nurses' attitudes and skills regarding grief counseling for bereaved family members of patients who died from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Wuhan, China. Using a cross-sectional design, 412 nurses selected through convenience sampling completed a demographic characteristics survey, Attitudes of Grief Counseling Scale, (AGCS) and Skills of Grief Counseling Scale (SGCS). Average AGCS score was 32.89 (SD = 9.46), with an overall percentage rate score of 65.6%. Factors influencing attitudes toward grief counseling included other grief counseling skills, educational level, communication skills, and training related to grief counseling (p < 0.05). Average SGCS score was 18.81 (SD = 4.25), with an overall percentage rate score of 58.7%. Factors influencing skills of grief counseling included responsibilities and roles, frequency of contact with the bereaved, and positive view of grief counseling (p < 0.05). Nurses' attitudes and skills regarding grief counseling were low, indicating an urgent need to improve grief counseling. [Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, xx(x), xx-xx.].