Publications:
Guidance for bereavement needs assessment in palliative care
second edition
26 October 2010
The second edition of this guide provides an update to the first edition following an extensive action research project studying the implementation of the Bereavement Needs Assessment (BNA) approach to assessment in three hospices7.
It includes
- revised versions of the original assessment matrix
- more detailed guidance on the organisational aspects of bringing routine,
systematic bereavement needs assessment procedures into everyday practice - an example training programme
- suggestions for resolving ethical concerns
Like the first edition, it
- outlines the reasons for assessment
- describes current methods and discusses their limitations
- discusses organisational issues, such as ethics and limitations.
The authors conclude that a new approach to assessment is needed, and that this approach should focus on individual coping. This lets the assessor recognise resilience and vulnerability in the face of ‘risk’.
The guide then suggests a way forward, together with a decisions that need to be made. It also presents work that is being carried out to improve practice and invites feedback.
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