Childhood bereavement services: a survey of UK provision

Rolls, Liz ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9225-5497 and Payne, S (2003) Childhood bereavement services: a survey of UK provision. Palliative Medicine, 17 (5). pp. 423-432. doi:10.1191/0269216303pm776oa

Full text not available from this repository.

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to identify the location, range and type of childhood bereavement service provision in the UK. A questionnaire was mailed to 127 services who were either solely dedicated to childhood bereavement or who offered a service within the range of work of a host organization and for which there was a supporting organizational structure. Responses were received from 108 services (a response rate of 85%). The findings identified that 85% of childhood bereavement services are located in the voluntary sector; 14% are dedicated childhood bereavement services, while 86% are offered as part of a host organization. Forty-four per cent of host organizations are hospices. The majority of services (73%) relied on both paid and unpaid staff, with 11% relying entirely on paid staff and 14% of services relying entirely on unpaid staff. The interventions offered ranged from individual family work (86%), individual child work (62%), groupwork with families (53%) and groupwork with children (45%). In addition, services offered prebereavement support (64%), a ’drop-inflservice (17%), information and advice (95%), training (32%) and the provision of resources (88%). As well as offering a service to children and their families, 74% of childhood bereavement services provided a service to ’secondary users‘, such as schools (66%), the emergency services (28%) and other professionals (63%). In terms of funding, 12% of services relied solely on external sources of funding, including donations, legacies, revenue from the host organization or grants, while 12% of services relied solely on internal sources of funding, including fundraising and training. The majority of services (73%), however, gained income from a range of sources. The study identifies the diversity of provision that has implications for the evaluation of childhood bereavement services.

Item Type:	Article
Article Type:	Article
Divisions:	Schools and Research Institutes > School of Education, Health and Sciences
Depositing User:	Charlotte Crutchlow
Date Deposited:	08 Dec 2025 15:45
Last Modified:	08 Dec 2025 15:45
URI:	https://eprints.glos.ac.uk/id/eprint/15643

University Staff: Request a correction | Repository Editors: Update this record