The loss of a close relative
The loss of a close relative is for most people a difficult and life-changing experience. The loss typically triggers a period of grief, but most bereaved find that over time it becomes easier to deal with the loss.
A small proportion of bereaved individuals experience that the grief continues to be very stressful for a long time after the loss. It can make it difficult to thrive and function in everyday life, and these bereaved often need help dealing with their grief.
In the International Diagnostic System (ICD-11), the diagnosis of prolonged grief has been recently added in order to identify these bereaved. You can read more about the symptoms of prolonged grief disorder in the table to the right of this page. However, clinicians are left without reliable questionnaires and interviews that can help them identify bereaved with prolonged grief disorder. Therefore, there is a great need to develop such tools in order to be able to identify the bereaved who need help to deal with their grief.
The purpose of the project
In the SorgSkalaStudiet, we will develop and evaluate a questionnaire and a structured clinical interview in order to be able to identify bereaved with prolonged grief disorder, as well as to identify risk factors for prolonged grief disorder. This is absolutely crucial for these bereaved to be able to get the right help in the long term.
In order to achieve this goal, we need the help of the true experts, namely you who have experienced the grief on your own body. We have therefore allowed ourselves and have been allowed to share the message of the research project in grief groups and in other relevant organizations that have contact with bereaved in grief.
We expect to have to interview and receive questionnaire responses from approximately 175 adult bereaved before we can say anything for sure about the quality of the questionnaire and the interview. Therefore we need your help!
Your participation in the project
If you are over 18 and it is more than six months since your loss, we very much hope for your participation. We are looking for participants who experience that grief still has a strong presence. You may be able to recognize some of the symptoms of prolonged grief that are described in the box, but this is not a requirement for participation. If grief has a strong presence in your life and it affects your well-being, we hope to hear from you.
Your participation will involve:
Most will have to answer a questionnaire and be interviewed by showing up physically at Aarhus University. Alternatively, you can answer a questionnaire and be interviewed online if, for example, you have a long way to the university or due to the COVID-19 situation. Online participation will take place via Zoom - a software program that complies with applicable data security legislation. You can find a guide til brug af Zoom her.
A small proportion of participants will be invited to an interview and answer a short questionnaire again approximately one week after the first interview.
Although the interview and the questionnaire will ask about symptoms and difficulties that one may experience after a loss, we do not expect that participation in the project will cause any discomfort. If you contrary to expectation experience any discomfort, you are always welcome to contact us by phone: 93 50 86 82.
We do not provide remuneration for participation in the project. We do not offer treatment, but can refer on to relevant offers or further diagnosing.
Video recording of the interview
The interview will be filmed in order to examine the accuracy of the interview as well as to qualify our work through supervision. These video recordings are incredibly important to the quality of our research. We therefore hope that you will allow us to record the interview with audio and film. If you want to participate and contact us, we will ask you to indicate whether you give consent for us to film the interview. You can always withdraw your consent without consequences.
All video recordings will be stored in accordance with the Danish Data Protection Act and the General Data Protection Regulation and all material will be used confidentially. None of the material will be published in recognizable form.
Your contribution by participating
By joining, you will be able to help us develop the best possible tools, and thereby help clinicians to become better at being able to distinguish between bereaved with natural grief reactions and bereaved with prolonged grief.
In this way, bereaved of prolonged grief can be identified quickly and accurately, and offered the right help. Therefore, you help to ensure the best conditions for bereaved in the future.
Where can I read more about the results of the research project?
The project's data collection is expected to be completed in 2022. When the scientific publications are completed and published, you will be able to find links to the publications on the Unit for Bereavement Research's website:
https://psy.au.dk/forskning/forskningscentre-og-klinikker/enhed-for-sorgforskning/
Visit data storage and processing for more information about data storage and your rights as a participant in the research project.