Table 1.
Characteristics of the Studies included in the Metasummary
| Source | Country | Method- ology | Data Collection Method | CASP Score | Finding Classification | Gender of Participants (N=) | Relationship to the care receiver | Caregiver age range (years); Caregiver mean age | Time since bereavement; Average bereavement period |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agnew et al. (2008) | Northern Ireland | Content Analysis | Semi-structured interviews | 21 | Conceptual / Thematic Description | Male = 5; Female = 5 | Spouses = 10; Parents = 0 Children = 0; Sibling = 0; Other = 0 | 39 years - 64 years; 52 years | 13 months - 23 months; not reported |
| Almberg et al. (2000) | Sweden | Field Research | Interviews consisted of broad open-ended questions, follow-up questions, and field notes | 20 | Conceptual/ Thematic Description | Male = 9; Female = 21 | Spouses = 7; Parents = 0 Children = 18; Sibling = 3; Other = 2 | 49 years - 88 years; 71 years | 3 months - 5 months; 3.33 months |
| Aoun et al. (2012) | Australia | Mixed methods Other: Thematic Analysis | Demographic questionnaire, semi-structured interview, and a measure of prolonged grief. | 18 | Thematic survey | Male = 3; Female = 13 | Spouses = 16; Parents = 0 Children = 0; Sibling = 0; Other = 0 | 50 years - 82 years; 65.19 years | 1 year - 4 years; 27.5 months |
| Asai et al. (2010) | Japan | Content Analysis | Semi-structured interviews | 16 | Thematic Survey | Male = 7; Female = 17 | Spouses = 24; Parents = 0 Children = 0; Sibling = 0; Other = 0 | 36 years −71 years; 59 years | 2 months - 9 years; 4 years |
| Bellamy (2014) | New Zealand | Grounded Theory | Semi-structured telephone interview and short background questionnaire | 21 | Conceptual/ Thematic Description | Male = 9; Female = 19 | Spouses = 17; Parents = 4 Children = 4; Sibling = 0; Other = 3 | 71 years - 90 years; not reported | within 1 year; not reported |
| Benkel et al. (2009) | Sweden | Mixed Methods | Semi-structured questionnaire with the possibility of giving comments, in-depth interview, and the Sense of Coherence Scale | 16 | Topical survey | Male = 1; Female = 6 | not reported | not reported; not reported | 6 weeks - 8 weeks and at 1 year; not reported |
| Bennett (2009) | England | Grounded Theory | Semi-structured interview | 18 | Conceptual/ Thematic Description | Male = 46; Female = 45 | Spouses = 91; Parents = 0 Children = 0; Sibling = 0; Other = 0 | 55 years - 95 years; 74 years | 3 months - 32 years; 8.68 years |
| Bent & Magilvy (2006) | USA | Phenomenology | In-depth open ended questions in interview and field notes | 18 | Conceptual / Thematic Description | Men = 0; Women = 6 | Spouses = 6; Parents = 0 Children = 0; Sibling = 0; Other = 0 | 50 years - late 70s; not reported | 1 year - 36 years; not reported |
| Cadell (2007) | Canada | Grounded Theory | Semi-structured interview | 18 | Interpretive | Male = 8; Female = 4; Transgender = 3 | not reported | not reported; not reported | not reported; not reported |
| Chan et al. (2011) | Hong Kong | Grounded Theory | Interviews | 20 | Interpretive | Male = 5; Female = 10 | Spouses = 15; Parents = 0 Children = 0; Sibling = 0; Other = 0 | 66 years - 86 years; 74.4 years | 6 weeks; 6 weeks |
| Chan et al. (2013) | Hong Kong | Other: Qualitative Content Analysis | Semi-structured interview and field notes | 19 | Thematic Survey | Male = 5; Female = 5 | Spouses = 0; Parents = 0 Children = 10; Sibling = 0; Other = 0 | 22 years - 46 years; not reported | not reported; not reported |
| Dean et al. (2005) | Canada | Content Analysis | Semi-structured interview and field notes | 17 | Interpretive | Male = 4; Female = 9 | Spouses = 0; Parents = 0 Children = 13; Sibling = 0; Other = 0 | 40 years - 77 years; 62.1 years | 6 months - 6 years; 28.6 months |
| Denham (1999) | USA | Ethnography | Semi-structured interviews, observation, patient record review and field notes | 21 | Interpretive | not reported (“8 families”) | Spouses = 0; Parents = 0 Children = 0; Sibling = 0; Other = 29 | 54 years - 71 years; not reported | within 6 months; not reported |
| DiGiacomo et al. (2013) | Australia | Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) | Three in-depth semi-structured interviews | 21 | Interpretive | Male = 21; Female = 0 | Spouses = 21; Parents = 0 Children = 0; Sibling = 0; Other = 0 | 63 years - 82 years; 71.4 years | within 2 years; not reported |
| Duke (1998) | England | Phenomenology | Unstructured interviews | 21 | Interpretive | not reported | Spouses = 4; Parents = 0 Children = 0; Sibling = 0; Other = 0 | not reported; not reported | 2 years; 2 years |
| Dumont et al. (2008) | Canada | Content Analysis | Semi-structured interviews | 18 | Conceptual / Thematic Description | Male = 7; Female = 11 | Spouses = 12; Parents = 0 Children = 0; Sibling = 0; Other = 6 | 33 years - 75 years; not reported | 3 months −4 months; not reported |
| Ferrell & Boyle (1992) | USA | Field Research | Interview with focused questions to obtain demographic information and open-ended techniques to gather data | 16 | Conceptual/ Thematic description | Male = 5; Female = 0 | Spouses = 5; Parents = 0 Children = 0; Sibling = 0; Other = 0 | 25 years - 45 years; not reported | not reported; not reported |
| Fisker & Strandmark (2007) | Denmark | Descriptive Phenomenology | In-depth interview with interview guide containing open themes | 22 | Interpretive | Male = 2; Female = 6 | Spouses = 8; Parents = 0 Children = 0; Sibling = 0; Other = 0 | 52 years - 69 years; not reported | 6 months - 18 months; not reported |
| Grbich et al. (2001) | Australia | Interpretive | Open-ended questions in interviews | 18 | Conceptual / Thematic Description | Male = 9; Female = 11 | Spouses = 15; Parents = 0 Children = 5; Sibling = 0; Other = 0 | 49 years - 83 years; not reported | not reported; not reported |
| Hegge (1991) | USA | Content Analysis | Open-ended questions in interviews | 11 | Thematic Survey | Male = 5; Female = 21 | Spouses = 26; Parents = 0 Children = 0; Sibling = 0; Other = 0 | over 60 years; not reported | 0 years −3 years; not reported |
| Holtslander & Duggleby (2009) | Canada | Grounded Theory | Open-ended questions in interview, diaries, field notes and memos | 21 | Interpretive | Male = 0; Female = 13 | Spouses = 13; Parents = 0 Children = 0; Sibling = 0; Other = 0 | 60 years - 79 years; not reported | 3 months - 1 year; not reported |
| Holtslander & Duggleby (2010) | Canada | Grounded Theory | Open-ended questions in interview and diaries | 21 | Interpretive | Male = 0; Female = 13 | Spouses = 13; Parents = 0 Children = 0; Sibling = 0; Other = 0 | 60 years - 79 years; 72.6 years | 0–1 year; not reported |
| Holtslander et al. (2011) | Canada | Grounded Theory | In-depth interviews, journal entries, field notes, memos | 18 | Interpretive | Male = 3; Female = 7 | Spouses = 10; Parents = 0 Children = 0; Sibling = 0; Other = 0 | 66 years - 83 years; not reported | 2 months - 11 months; 6.1 months |
| Hornjatkevyc & Alderson (2011) | Canada | Phenomenology | Semi-structured interviews | 20 | Conceptual / Thematic Description | Male = 8; Female = 0 | Spouses = 8; Parents = 0 Children = 0; Sibling = 0; Other = 0 | 44 years - 53 years; not reported | 18 months - 9 years; not reported |
| Hudson (2006) | Australia | Mixed Methods | Questionnaires and structured interviews | 14 | Conceptual / Thematic Description | Male = 14; Female = 31 | Spouses = 28; Parents = 0 Children = 0; Sibling = 0; Other = 17 | not reported; 58 years | 6 weeks; 6 weeks |
| Jacob (1996) | USA | Grounded Theory | Semi-structured interview | 19 | Interpretive | Male = 0; Female = 6 | Spouses = 6; Parents = 0 Children = 0; Sibling = 0; Other = 0 | 66 years - 78 years; 74.3 years | 6 weeks - 16 months; not reported |
| Jones & Martinson (1992) | USA | Grounded Theory | Open-ended interview and semi-structured interview | 12 | Conceptual/Thematic Description | Male = 4; Female = 9 | Spouses = 7; Parents = 0 Children = 6; Sibling = 0; Other = 0 | 38 years - 78 years; 58.8 years | 1 month - 20 months; 8.15 months |
| Kerr (1991) | USA | Mixed Methods | Structured interview with some open-ended questions, two scales | 21 | Thematic survey | Male = 0; Female = 67 | Spouses = 0; Parents = 0 Children = 67; Sibling = 0; Other = 0 | 35 years - 69 years; 48.7 years | not reported; not reported |
| Koop & Strang (2003) | Canada | Content Analysis | Interviews, field notes and observation | 19 | Conceptual / Thematic Description | Male = 4; Female = 11 | Spouses = 9; Parents = 0 Children = 5; Sibling = 1; Other = 0 | 37 years - 81 years; 58.5 years | 1 month - 12 months; 5.3 months |
| Lee et al. (2005) | Republic of Korea | Mixed Methods | In-depth semi-structured interviews, observation, and two instruments on grief | 15 | Thematic Survey | Male = 5; Female = 5 | Spouses = 10; Parents = 0 Children = 0; Sibling = 0; Other = 0 | 36 years −57 years; 49.1 years | 10 months - 28 months; 16.2 months |
| Longman (1995) | USA | Grounded Theory | Interviews; questions moved from general to specific. Memos and descriptive field notes. | 18 | Interpretive | Male = 0; Female = 6 | Spouses = 0; Parents = 6 Children = 0; Sibling = 0; Other = 0 | 45 years - 69 years; 56.5 years | 10 months - 4 years; not reported |
| McGaffic & Longman (1993) | USA | Grounded Theory | Early interviews began with one question; later interviews contained more focused questions | 17 | Interpretive | Male = 6; Female = 0 | Spouses = 6; Parents = 0 Children = 0; Sibling = 0; Other = 0 | 24 years - 48 years; 39 years | 3 weeks - 18 months; 6.1 months |
| Meares (1995) | USA | Descriptive Phenomenology | Semi-structured interview, interview observations, field notes, and personal researcher log | 24 | Interpretive | Male = 0; Female = 12 | Spouses = 3; Parents = 4 Children = 0; Sibling = 3; Other = 2 | 40 years - 75 years; 61.1 years | 2 months - 14 months; 5.83 months |
| Milberg et al. (2008) | Sweden | Mixed Methods | Postal questionnaire with Likert-type and open-ended questions | 18 | Topical Survey | Male = 99; Female = 147; unknown = 2 | Spouses = 132; Parents = 54; Children = 37; Sibling = 0; Other = 21 | 27 years - 93 years; 62 years | 0 months - more than 6 months; not reported |
| Muta et al. (2014) | Japan | Other: Content Analysis | Semi-structured interview | 20 | Topical survey | Male = 13; Female = 31 | Spouses = 20; Parents = 0; Children = 18; Sibling = 3; Other = 3 | 21 years - 79 years; 58 years | 18 months - 26 months; 22 months |
| O’Callaghan et al. (2013) | Australia | Grounded Theory | Questionnaire and semi-structured interviews | 16 | Conceptual / Thematic Description | Men = 3; Women = 5 | Spouses = 2; Parents = 2 Children = 2; Sibling = 1; Other = 2 | 21–70 years; not reported | 18 days - 3 years; 1 year |
| Pusa et al. (2012) | Sweden | Phenomenology | Narrative interviews | 20 | Interpretive | Men = 2; Women = 9 | Spouses = 7; Parents = 0 Children = 3; Sibling = 0; Other = 1 | 35–79 years; 57.9 years | 3 months −11 months; 8 months |
| Rafieei (2013) | USA | Comparative Analysis | Semi-structured interview | 22 | Conceptual/ Thematic Description | Male = 24; Female = 24 | Spouses =48; Parents = 0 Children = 0; Sibling = 0; Other = 0 | 40 years and older; not reported | 0 years - more than 3 years; not reported |
| Sanderson et al. (2013) | Australia | Mixed method | Semi-structured phone interview | 19 | Thematic Survey | Men = 20; Women = 12 | Spouses = 20; Parents = 0 Children = 8; Sibling = 4; Other = 0 | 31 years - 81 years; 58 years | 6 months; 6 months |
| Shuter et al. (2014) | Australia | Other: Problem-Driven Content Analysis | Semi-structured interview | 21 | Conceptual/ Thematic Description | Male = 3; Female = 4; unknown = 6 | Spouses = 7; Parents = 0 Children = 6; Sibling = 0; Other = 0 | not reported; 67.1 years | pre-death - 12 months; not reported |
| Small et al. (2009) | United Kingdom | Thematic Analysis | Semi-structured interview (face to face or telephone) | 19 | Conceptual/ Thematic Description | Male = 3; Female = 17 | Spouses = 13; Parents = 0 Children = 7; Sibling = 0; Other = 0 | not reported; not reported | 0 months - 18 months; not reported |
| Sowell et al. (1991) | USA | Descriptive Phenomenology | Open-ended interview | 21 | Conceptual/ Thematic description | Male = 8; Female = 0 | Spouses = 8; Parents = 0 Children = 0; Sibling = 0; Other = 0 | 26 years - 53 years; not reported | 0 months - 18 months; not reported |
| Stajduhar (1997) | Canada | Grounded Theory | Open-ended interview, observational field notes, theoretical memos and diagrams, and personal researcher journal | 19 | Interpretive | Male = 4; Female = 3 | Spouses = 4; Parents = 2 Children = 0; Sibling = 1; Other = 0 | 31 years - 65 years; not reported | within 1 year (except 1); not reported |
| Stajduhar et al. (2010) | Canada | Interpretive thematic | Focus groups | 14 | Interpretive | Males = 5; Females = 14 | Spouses = 13; Parents = 0 Children = 4; Sibling = 1; Other = 1 | 42 years - 85 years; 63 years | 2 years −11 years; not reported |
| Steeves (2002) | USA | Ethnography | Serial interviews and participant observation and field notes | 20 | Conceptual / Thematic Description | Male = 5; Female = 10 | Spouses = 15; Parents = 0 Children = 0; Sibling = 0; Other = 0 | not reported; 70.3 years | pre-death - 29 months; not reported |
| Topf et al. (2013) | Canada | Interpretive Descriptive | Semi-structured interviews, field notes, journals | 17 | Conceptual/ Thematic Description | Males = 5; Females = 13 | Spouses = 8; Parents = 1 Children = 4; Sibling = 3; Other = 2 | 23–91 years old; not reported | 2 months - 17 years; 3.96 years |
| Waldrop (2007) | USA | Exploratory Descriptive Phenomenological | Two open-ended interviews, Brief Symptom Inventory, and Texas Revised Instrument on Grief | 19 | Thematic survey | Male = 7; Female = 23 | not reported | 61 years - 85 years; 77 years | 1 year; 1 year |