Adaptation to the New World: Experiences of bereaved families of the patients with Covid-19

Background: Accepting the death of others is inherently difficult and painful for humans, so throughout history, humans have avoided facing the reality of death and their inability to control it, but even now death reveals itself through a virus called Covid-19 which has given that the Families who, in addition to grieving the lost loved one, must bear this tragedy alone. Lost mourning is a difficult experience in itself, and with Covid-19 it may become more complicated. Aim: This study aimed to explain the experience of bereaved families of patients with Covid-19. Methods: In this qualitative descriptive study by using conventional content analysis method, 20 participants were purposefully selected and included in the study. Overall, the data were obtained through in- depth semi-structured interviews. Participants' contact numbers extracted from the archives of deceased Covid-19 patients that hospitalized in the Covid-19 wards of educational hospitals of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences from 22August 2020 to 21 May 2021,Tehran, Iran.  The interviews continued until the data were saturated, which means no newer information was obtained. The interview lasted between 35 and 40 minutes. MAXQDA 10 software was used to analyze information. Results: The final theme of adaptation to the new world including three categories of psychological symptoms including subcategory (Disbelief mourning and disease and social stigma), role conflict including subcategory (Threatening context of multiple roles , Bottleneck of mental and work hazards, and Uncertain future) and Miracle of belief and faith included subcategory (inner peace with praying and distraction of thoughts). Implications for Practice: Given that one of the main concerns of the world after the Coronavirus era is incomplete mourning and the resulting psychological disorders in the family, it is important to find a solution to support bereaved families to adapt to the new world without the deceased.