Table 1.

Overview of included review articles relating to grief and bereavement of family/friends

Author, year	Jurisdiction	Study type	Subjects/texts (time since MAiD)	Demographics	Type of MAiD	Main question	Main findings/concepts
Andriessen et al, 20205	Multiple/not specified	Systematic Review	10 primary research articles	NS	Multiple	Assess grief and mental health of people bereaved by euthanasia	Bereaved individuals following euthanasia had similar to lower scores of disordered grief, mental health, and PTSD Secrecy and lack of social support increase grief
Gamondi et al, 201910	Multiple/not specified	Systematic Review	19 primary research articles	NS	Multiple	Review family experiences of assisted dying	Themes that represent experiences: Context of the decision Grounding the decision Cognitive and emotional work Experiencing the final farewell Grief and bereavement
Goldberg et al, 202145	Multiple/not specified	NS	Qualitative and quantitative articles	NS	Multiple	Summarise experiences and perspectives of caregivers	Caregivers viewed MAID more favourably than dying by natural causes It is unclear leads to better outcomes for caregivers, but psychosocial support is needed
Lowers et al, 20207	Multiple/not specified	Narrative synthesis	34 end-of-life caregiving studies eleven hastened death caregiving studies	NS	Multiple	Explore experiences of family and friends providing care at home at end of life for hastened death	Caregivers actively work toward patient’s goal of a peaceful death in hastened death studies HCPs play a major role in natural death and hastened death, and their understanding of legal abilities and personal willingness to provide practical support affect caregivers’ satisfaction
Ontario HIV Treatment Network, 2017	Multiple/not specified	NS	NS	‘mostly white… college educated’	Multiple	Identify impact of MAID on family and friends	There are shared responsibilities between patients, family members and HCPs Opportunity to discuss death is important
Roest et al, 201916	Netherlands	Systematic Review	14 primary research articles	NS	Multiple	Explore family member involvement in MAID in the Netherlands	Four themes identified: Family-related reasons not to request MAID Responsibilities during decision-making and performance of MAID Grief after MAID is complicated Physician-family relationship is important

HCPs, healthcare professionals; MAiD, medical assistance in dying; NS, not significant; PTSD, post-traumatic stress disorder .