Conference Proceedings - School of Nursing & Midwifery - Trinity ...

School of Nursing & Midwifery, Trinity College Dublin: 8 th Annual Interdisciplinary Research Conference
Transforming Healthcare Through Research, Education & Technology: 7 th – 9 th November 2007
Conference Proceedings
had not. One-third found it difficult to attend their sessions at the
hospice, whilst almost half found it a more positive experience with
the remaining respondents (18%) reporting mixed feelings.
The reasons for using the service varied. Some wished to talk to
someone outside their family whilst others felt that they could not
cope on their own or had no one else to talk to. Others were
persuaded to attend by their family and friends. The reasons for not
accessing the service also varied. Some respondents felt that they
were coping ‘ok’ whilst others stated that they were already
receiving sufficient support from family and friends, one in ten were
not aware of the service and others reported that they were too
emotional to access the service.
Service users generally accessed the service approximately six
months after the death of their relative/friend and attended for an
average of five sessions, although this ranged from 1 to 30
sessions. The majority of service users met with the same volunteer
for all of their sessions. Most considered the ability of the volunteer
to listen, understand and have knowledge of the bereavement
process to be very important.
People who attended the service generally reported a number of
benefits, such as: being listened to and feeling that they were not
being judged; being allowed to feel that their loss was not being
compared to other people’s loss; the opportunity ‘to unwind and
pour your heart out; to be assured that they were neither “stupid”
nor “mad”; being given the opportunity to discuss the person who
had died with someone who did not know them and who was
independent of family and friends; and the opportunity to have a
‘safe space’ to grieve. However, some attenders also reported some
negative aspects of their experience. For example, some reported
feeling vulnerable and losing control during the sessions. Others did
not like being asked questions about their past or discussing issues
for which they were unprepared. Some also stated they felt a lack
of rapport with the volunteer who was assigned to them whilst a
few also had some questions around the qualifications of the
volunteers.
The majority of this group were satisfied with the service, although
a number of suggested improvements were highlighted. For
example, it may be beneficial to increase awareness of the service
amongst all of the bereaved relatives and friends. At present, there
are a number of points at which the bereaved are informed about
the VBSS, but a significant proportion of people remain unaware of
the service. The service providers may also wish to consider
allowing clients the opportunity to change the volunteer whom they
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