This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Matsushima, T Articles by Nishitateno, K Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Matsushima, T Articles by Nishitateno, K Pubmed/NCBI databases Medline Plus Health Information Bereavement Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

The current status of bereavement follow-up in hospice and palliative care in Japan

Peace House Hospice, Kanagawa

A Akabayashi

School of Public Health, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto

K Nishitateno

Peace House Hospice, Kanagawa

In order to explore the implementation of bereavement care in hospice/palliative care settings in Japan, a self-administered questionnaire was sent to all 54 government-approved hospice/palliative care units (PCUs) in May of 1999 (recovery rate 93%). Results showed that bereavement follow-up is performed in 37 institutes (74%) and memorial cards and services are most frequently provided. Memorial cards are provided mainly by nurses, and memorial services involve many health care professionals as well as volunteers. Religious workers tended to be involved in memorial services and social group meetings. Individually oriented interventions such as telephone contacts, personal visits and personal counselling were reportedly used less often. The need for individual-oriented programmes was recognized, and many institutes were considering the expansion of their programmes to include them. However, the difficulties of implementing such care at hospice/PCUs were also raised. Two socio-cultural factors possibly affecting bereavement care in Japan, namely, the roles of family and religious (Buddhist) ceremonies were discussed. It was pointed out that the spirit of bereavement care may be embodied in existing religious ceremonies. We conclude that it is necessary to develop bereavement care programmes based on common, basic hospice care tenets while making full use of existing local resources and taking into account regional values.

Key Words: bereavement care • Buddhism • hospice • Japan • palliative care unit • questionnaire

Palliative Medicine, Vol. 16, No. 2, 151-158 (2002)
DOI: 10.1191/0269216302pm522oa


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				M. Miyashita, T. Morita, S. Tsuneto, K. Sato, and Y. Shima The Japan HOspice and Palliative Care Evaluation Study (J-HOPE Study): Study Design and Characteristics of Participating Institutions American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, June 1, 2008; 25(3): 223 - 232. [Abstract] [PDF]

				P. Yi, P. Barreto, C. Soler, M. Fombuena, V. Espinar, L. Pascual, R. Navarro, R. Gonzalez, J. Bernabeu, and J. Suarez Grief support provided to caregivers of palliative care patients in Spain Palliative Medicine, July 1, 2006; 20(5): 521 - 531. [Abstract] [PDF]