A proportion of persons affected by coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) die and do so in extraordinary circumstances. This can make grief management extremely challenging for families. The Clinical Psychology unit of an Italian hospital offered a bereavement follow-up call to such families. This study aimed to explore the families' experiences and needs collected during these calls, and the role that the psychologists played through the call. A total of 246 families were called over 3 months. Multiple qualitative methods included: (i) written reports of the calls with relatives of patients who died at the hospital for COVID-19; (ii) qualitative semi-structured interviews with psychologists involved in the calls; (iii) observation of psychologists' peer group discussions. A thematic analysis was conducted. Six themes emerged: without death rituals, solitary, unexpected, unfair, unsafe, coexisting with other stressors. Families' reactions were perceived by psychologists as close to a traumatic grief. Families' needs ranged from finding alternative rituals to giving meaning and expressing different emotions. The psychologists played both a social-institutional and a psychological-human role through the calls (e.g., they cured disrupted communication or validated feelings and choices). This study highlighted the potential of traumatic grief of families of COVID-19 victims, and provided indications for supporting them within the space of a short phone call.

中文翻译：

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电话跟进在医院死亡的 COVID-19 患者家属：家属的悲伤反应和临床心理学家的角色

一部分受冠状病毒病 19 (COVID-19) 影响的人会在特殊情况下死亡。这会使悲伤管理对家庭来说极具挑战性。意大利一家医院的临床心理学部门为这些家庭提供了丧亲后跟进电话。本研究旨在探讨在这些电话中收集到的家庭经历和需求，以及心理学家在电话中所扮演的角色。在 3 个月的时间里，共有 246 个家庭被调用。多种定性方法包括：(i) 与因 COVID-19 在医院死亡的患者亲属通话的书面报告；(ii) 对参与电话会议的心理学家进行定性的半结构化访谈；(iii) 观察心理学家的同行小组讨论。进行了专题分析。出现了六个主题：没有死亡仪式，孤独，意外，不公平，不安全，与其他压力源共存。心理学家认为家庭的反应接近于创伤性悲痛。家庭的需求范围从寻找替代仪式到赋予意义和表达不同的情感。心理学家通过电话扮演了社会制度和心理人的角色（例如，他们治愈了中断的沟通或验证了感受和选择）。这项研究强调了 COVID-19 受害者家属遭受创伤性悲痛的可能性，并提供了在短电话时间内支持他们的迹象。需求的范围从寻找替代仪式到赋予意义和表达不同的情感。心理学家通过电话扮演了社会制度和心理人的角色（例如，他们治愈了中断的沟通或验证了感受和选择）。这项研究强调了 COVID-19 受害者家属遭受创伤性悲痛的可能性，并提供了在短电话时间内支持他们的迹象。需求的范围从寻找替代仪式到赋予意义和表达不同的情感。心理学家通过电话扮演了社会制度和心理人的角色（例如，他们治愈了中断的沟通或验证了感受和选择）。这项研究强调了 COVID-19 受害者家属遭受创伤性悲痛的可能性，并提供了在短电话时间内支持他们的迹象。