A Systematic Review of Bereaved Parents’ Physical and Psychological Health Outcomes (GP773)

Outcomes. 1. Learners will be able to value a need for interventions for bereaved parents 2. Learners will learn to appraise research articles using the GRADE method Importance. The core function of pediatric palliative care (PPC) is to offer medical and psychosocial support for patients with serious conditions and their family during life and after. Despite increasing availability of PPC, bereaved parents have expressed a sense of abandonment from the healthcare system after their child has died. Bereaved parents have a higher risk of dying and a higher incidence of physical and mental conditions than the general population. Objective(s). To conduct a systematic literature review of studies involving bereaved parents' health outcomes after the loss of a child from a chronic condition. Method(s). The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) tool was used to rate the effectiveness of selected articles describing bereaved parents' physical, social, and psychological health outcomes. We searched Medline via PubMed, CINAHL, and PsycINFO using search words related to our study purpose. A blinded screening of title and abstract was performed, with final inclusion decisions resolved through group discussions. Matrices for remaining articles were created. The levels of evidence of the final 36 articles or records were rated from very low to high based on the GRADE guidelines. Findings. The initial search identified a total of 4,373 records after deduplication. During the initial title and abstract screening process, 4,266 records were excluded based on inclusion/exclusion criteria. A full-text review of 107 records eliminated 71 additional records that did not meet the inclusion criteria. Of the final 36 records, the GRADE values were 3, very low; 14, low; 16, moderate; and 3, strong evidence. Conclusion(s). The state of the science on bereaved parents' health outcomes highlights the need for resources and interventions to address bereaved parents' poor health. Impact. This review provides evidence of the need for US population-based studies with an emphasis on evaluating minority bereaved parents' health conditions.