Understanding and supporting the process of grief in adults with intellectual disabilities Interventions and recommendations for supporting the process of grieving among people with intellectual disabilities: Findings from a systematic review

Issued on October 4 2019

Understanding and supporting the process of grief in adults with intellectual disabilities

Interventions and recommendations for supporting the process of grieving among people with intellectual disabilities: Findings from a systematic review

1. McGrath¹, G. Boland², P. Dodd³ and S. Guerin²

¹Health Service Executive, Ireland; ²University College Dublin, Ireland; ³St Michaels House, Ireland

Introduction: Despite there being a significant body of research on grief in intellectual disabilities (ID), there has yet to be a synthesis of knowledge relating to intervention and supports. This project synthesises research published between 1999 and 2015, with a focus on findings regarding supporting people with ID.

Methods: The systematic review was developed using PRISMA guidelines and gathered articles from three electronic databases (PsycINFO, CINAHL, MEDLINE). The search string included variants of ‘intellectual disability’ and grief and bereavement. All abstracts/papers were reviewed by two researchers, with quality checks on data extraction and analysis. Interventions were tabulated and recommendations were identified using content analysis.

Results: The search identified 506 abstracts, with 88 papers selected for inclusion in the review (68% empirical papers, predominantly qualitative). Interventions and recommendations for practice were common in qualitative studies. A range of interventions were considered, including counselling/psychotherapy (individual and group), individual interventions, and supporting/educating staff to support individuals. Recommendations included a focus on assisted mourning, provision of counselling and staff training to support practice.

Implications: Given the body of knowledge that has been generated in relation to bereavement, it is important that the knowledge from this work is transferred to practice settings to maximise impact.

Keywords Intellectual disability, Bereavement, Grief, Complicated grief