Bereavement for a Loved Person: A Look at the Opinions and Process of Coping With Grief in the COVID-19 Era

Abstract

Objective: The challenges of grief caused by the COVID-19 epidemic and how to deal with it are serious issues affecting people worldwide, including Iran. Accordingly, the present study aimed to explore the nature of mourning for those who lost their family members during the COVID-19 epidemic and identify the quality of strategies used to cope with it. Methods: This qualitative study was conducted using a grounded theory approach. The study participants were 20 survivors of COVID-19 in Tehran City, Iran, who were grieving the loss of their loved ones during the epidemic in 2021. The participants were selected using purposeful sampling. The data were collected through quasi-structured interviews with the participants. The collected data were analyzed using open, axial, and selective coding. Results: The results revealed three main categories: Underlying factors affecting grief (beliefs and attitudes toward death and the afterlife, the public reaction to grief, the specific position and role of the deceased), the nature and development of grief (including feelings of anger at the community and the medical staff, the nature of death due to COVID-19 and blaming oneself for the illness and death of the deceased), and coping and managing grief (coping the thought of death and the meaning of life, inducing life in oneself and other survivors, and changing the pattern of thinking and behaving towards others and life). Conclusion: The COVID-19 survivors who are grieving the loss of their loved ones can use this model to better understand and manage to cope with grief and adapt to it simultaneously. Ultimately, this process led to adaptation to mourning and adopting effective coping strategies in the COVID-19 survivors. The core category revealed in the study was “optimal coping with grief and loss during the COVID-19 epidemic”.