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Canadian Virtual Hospice ICU Grief

Building capacity to support grieving families in the ICU: Online training for ICU clinicians.

The ICUGrief.ca Modules are one component of the multi-component bereavement intervention developed for the purpose of the “ICU BEREAVE” study co-led by Dr. James Downar and Dr. Brandi Vanderspank-Wright. The ICU BEREAVE study is exploring the feasibility of a multi-component bereavement intervention to support family members following the death of a loved one in the ICU in an effort to mitigate their risk of developing a severe grief reaction.

The modules provide guidance for understanding and supporting families in acute grief and outlines practical strategies to sensitively intervene. The modules are relevant to ICU clinicians at all stages of their career from students to veterans. In addition to improving understanding of grief in an ICU context and ways in which clinicians can affect it, the modules highlight ways to address difficult scenarios with family members before and after a patient dies.

The content provides direction from the moment families walk in the door through to post-death interventions and reflections to assist you in delivering the highest quality care. ICUGrief.ca was developed by a team of national ICU grief experts together with ICU clinicians and family members of former ICU patients who passed away (See Who developed ICUGrief.ca). It compliments any existing counselling or related health care services you have available to you in ICU.

https://icugrief.ca