Chapter 2: Understanding Mental Health and Funerals 1 CE Hour
By: Lindsay A. Andre, FD, MBA
Learning objectives After completing this course, the learner will be able to: Explain the role of bereavement services List and give examples of some general considerations of interventions that help in the bereavement process. Implicit bias in healthcare Implicit bias significantly affects how healthcare professionals perceive and make treatment decisions, ultimately resulting in disparities in health outcomes. These biases, often unconscious and unintentional, can shape behavior and produce differences in medical care along various lines, including race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, and socioeconomic status. Healthcare disparities stemming from implicit bias can manifest in several ways. For example, a healthcare provider might unconsciously give less attention to a patient or make assumptions about their medical needs based on race, gender, or age. The unconscious assumptions can lead to delayed or inadequate care, misdiagnoses, or inappropriate treatments, all of which can adversely impact health outcomes. Addressing
Justify the role of funeral rituals in mourning. Discuss the role of support groups in helping the bereaved.
implicit bias in healthcare is crucial for achieving equity in medical treatment. Strategies to combat these biases involve education and awareness programs for healthcare professionals. These programs help individuals recognize and acknowledge their biases, fostering a more empathetic and unbiased approach to patient care. Additionally, implementing policies and procedures prioritizing equitable treatment for all patients can play a pivotal role in reducing healthcare disparities. Ultimately, confronting implicit bias in healthcare is essential to creating a more just and equitable healthcare system where everyone receives fair and equal treatment regardless of their background or characteristics.
INTRODUCTION TO GRIEF AND BEREAVEMENT
Bereavement is the state of mourning, which is defined as the state of being deprived of someone by death (Sadock, Ruiz & Sadock, 2014). Bereavement broadly encompasses the entire experience of friends and relatives in the anticipation, loss of life, and consequential adaptation to the aftermath of a loved one's death. It is the period of sadness and loneliness we experience when we lose a loved one, as we attempt to adjust to the loss. Effects of grief and bereavement Sometimes a loss deeply challenges those notions, leading to a crisis of belief and loss of faith. Some of the more obvious effects of grief include: ● Physical : Sleep disturbance, insomnia, nightmares, vivid dreams, loss of appetite, tension, shortness of breath, sweating, restlessness, lethargy. Stages of grief A theory developed by psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross suggests that we go through five distinct stages of grief after the loss of a loved one: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Denial The first stage of grief, denial, can help the bereaved to minimize the overwhelming pain of loss. As they process the reality of their loss, they are also trying to survive emotional pain. It can be hard to believe they have lost an important person in their lives, especially when they may have just spoken with this person the previous week or even the previous day. Their reality has shifted completely in this moment of loss. It can take their minds some time to adjust to this new reality. Denial is not only an attempt to pretend that the loss does not exist, but it is also an attempt to absorb and understand what is happening.
Grief, on the other hand, refers to how bereavement affects an individual personally, with effects across several domains – emotional, cognitive, social, physical, financial, and spiritual. Grief often causes disruption and disturbance of everyday life. However, grief can be expressed in very different ways: some people do not experience an intense reaction. Most people experience fluctuating reactions for a while, while others can develop an intense and prolonged grief response. ● Psychological : Grief, emptiness, depression, anger, fear. ● Social : Feeling detached from society, isolation, abnormal behavior. ● Spiritual : All human beings have beliefs that give them some sense of security — that make sense of the world and offer a code for life, whatever the roots. Anger It is common for people to experience anger after the loss of a loved one. They are trying to adjust to a new reality and are likely experiencing extreme emotional discomfort. There is so much to process that anger may feel like it allows them an emotional outlet. Bargaining People coping with loss may feel so desperate that they are willing to do almost anything to alleviate or minimize the pain. Losing a loved causes people to consider any way they can avoid the current pain or the pain they are anticipating from loss. As a result, there are many ways they may try to bargain, including: "I promise to become a better person if you will let my best friend live." "God, if you can cure my family member, I will turn my life around."
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Book Code: FGA0524
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