Abstract:
The surge of COVID-19 deaths in Baguio City and La Trinidad, Benguet, along with various restrictions, has affected and compromised the ability of the family members of the deceased to grieve appropriately. Yet, there is no known program that provides support to these vulnerable individuals. Thus, this study identified the impacts of the death to the family members which served as a basis for the development of programs that will cater to their needs. This study determined the grief intensity of bereaved families of COVID-19 cases in Baguio City and La Trinidad, Benguet. Grief intensity was compared according to age, gender, relationship to the patient, religion, period from death, and death circumstance of the deceased. This was complemented by their lived experiences from the time of diagnosis of COVID-19 to the time of the interview.
The study employed a mixed-method approach, guided by concurrent nested design. The researchers administered questionnaires and conducted interviews in Baguio City and La Trinidad, Benguet. Mean, t-test, and one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were utilized in the treatment of quantitative data. Meanwhile, the qualitative data were analyzed using Colaizzi's method of phenomenological analysis. The quantitative results showed that most of the bereaved family members have a high level of grief intensity. Results also showed that there was no significant difference between the grief intensity of different sexes, religion, and death circumstance. On the other hand, there was a significant difference in the grief intensity between different ages, period from death, and relationship to case. For the qualitative data, the bereaved family members experienced different challenges such as protocols limiting their ability to grieve properly, limited/lack of medical facilities and supplies, inability to say goodbye, conflict between beliefs and protocol, unusual funeral practices, disruption of member’s life following the death, inadequate support from concerned individuals and groups, and presence of regrets. Nevertheless, the participants also showed optimism by sharing their ability to slowly achieve acceptance through the use of coping mechanisms, presence of support groups and the lessons learned from this experience. Further research may achieve better results by widening the scope of the study. They may also compare the grief intensify of bereaved families with their presence or absence during the last moments of their loved one. With the easing of protocols and guidelines, conducting a similar study is highly recommended to compare the levels of grief. Finally, the researchers recommend that further programs such as psychological assistance be implemented to provide support for bereaved families who lack resources to properly process the death of a loved one.
