This Article  • Full text  • PDF  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citation map  • Citing articles on HighWire  • Citing articles on Web of Science (61)  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Related letter  • Similar articles in JAMA  Topic Collections  • Perspectives on Care at the Close of Life  • Alert me on articles by topic  Social Bookmarking   What's this?

"All the Doctors Just Suddenly Go"

Holly G. Prigerson, PhD; Selby C. Jacobs, MD,MPH

JAMA. 2001;286:1369-1376.

Despite the frequency with which physicians encounter bereaved patients, medical training offers little guidance in the provision of bereavement ("after") care. Physicians are often uncertain of how to distinguish between normal and pathological grief reactions in their bereaved patients, and how to manage their health care. Bereavement is associated with declines in health, inappropriate health service use, and increased risk of death. Identifying and intervening on behalf of bereaved patients could help address those increased risks. We examine the experience of a woman widowed for 2 years to illustrate distinctions between symptoms and outcomes of uncomplicated and complicated grief, recommend approaches to physician interactions with bereaved patients, and offer guidelines for professional intervention in aftercare.

Author Affiliations: Departments of Psychiatry (Drs Prigerson and Jacobs) and Epidemiology and Public Health (Dr Prigerson), Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Conn.

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

RELATED LETTER

Medicating Grief With Benzodiazepines: Physician and Patient Perspectives
Joan M. Cook, Tatyana Biyanova, and Randall Marshall
Arch Intern Med. 2007;167(18):2006-2007.
EXTRACT | FULL TEXT  

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES

Discussing Treatment Preferences With Patients Who Want "Everything"
Quill et al.
ANN INTERN MED 2009;151:345-349.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Bereavement Practices of Physicians in Oncology and Palliative Care
Chau et al.
Arch Intern Med 2009;169:963-971.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Medicating Grief With Benzodiazepines: Physician and Patient Perspectives
Cook et al.
Arch Intern Med 2007;167:2006-2007.
FULL TEXT  

Palliative Care Consultation, Quality-of-Life Measurements, and Bereavement for End-of-Life Care in Patients With Lung Cancer: ACCP Evidence-Based Clinical Practice Guidelines (2nd Edition)
Griffin et al.
Chest 2007;132:404S-422S.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

An Empirical Examination of the Stage Theory of Grief
Maciejewski et al.
JAMA 2007;297:716-723.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Sadness and Loss: Toward a Neurobiopsychosocial Model
Freed and Mann
Am. J. Psychiatry 2007;164:28-34.
FULL TEXT  

Pediatrician Characteristics Associated With Attention to Spirituality and Religion in Clinical Practice
Grossoehme et al.
Pediatrics 2007;119:e117-e123.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Treatment of Complicated Grief: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Shear et al.
JAMA 2005;293:2601-2608.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Palliative Care in the Final Days of Life: "They Were Expecting It at Any Time"
Hallenbeck
JAMA 2005;293:2265-2271.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Grief support for informal caregivers of patients with ALS: A national survey
Hebert et al.
Neurology 2005;64:137-138.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Deaths of Pediatric Patients: Relevance to Their Medical Home, an Urban Primary Care Clinic
Serwint and Nellis
Pediatrics 2005;115:57-63.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Identifying barriers to psychosocial spiritual care at the end of life: A physician group study
Chibnall et al.
AM J HOSP PALLIAT CARE 2004;21:419-426.
ABSTRACT  

Supporting Family Caregivers at the End of Life: "They Don't Know What They Don't Know"
Rabow et al.
JAMA 2004;291:483-491.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Pediatrician Beliefs About Spirituality and Religion in Medicine: Associations With Clinical Practice
Armbruster et al.
Pediatrics 2003;111:e227-235.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Childhood Traumatic Grief: Concepts and Controversies
COHEN et al.
Trauma Violence Abuse 2002;3:307-327.
ABSTRACT  

Mourning and Meaning
NEIMEYER et al.
American Behavioral Scientist 2002;46:235-251.
ABSTRACT  

Responding to Requests for Physician-Assisted Suicide: "These Are Uncharted Waters for Both of Us. . . ."
Bascom and Tolle
JAMA 2002;288:91-98.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

When Does the Responsibility of Our Care End: Bereavement
Penson et al.
The Oncologist 2002;7:251-258.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Caring for Bereaved Patients: "All the Doctors Just Suddenly Go"
Markowitz and Rabow
JAMA 2002;287:882-882.
FULL TEXT