The impact of supportive telephone call intervention on grief after the death of a family member

This study describes the impact of a supportive telephone call on grief 4 m onths after the: death of a family member. The study design involved a quas iexperimental intervention group (n = 70) and a control group (n = 155). Th e intervention was a supportive telephone call after the death of a family member. Grief reactions were measured with the Hogan Grief Reactions Checkl ist. Results were completed by content analysis of family members' experien ces of the intervention. Chi-square and t tests were used to compare the as sociations with demographic data, and logistic regression analysis was used to compare the responses. The results pointed to differences in despair an d personal growth between the groups. The participants experienced the supp ortive telephone call positively for the most part. Negative experiences we re associated with promises to call in which the call never reached the par ticipant. Grieving Family members' positive experiences of the call indicat e that there is a need for individual support after the death, given by nur ses of the wards in which the deceased received care.