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ABSTRACT
This article reports findings from the first two stages of a three-stage qualitative study which considered the role of services, including public, private and charitable organisations, in responding to the needs of adults bereaved following the drug and/or alcohol-related death of someone close. The study, the first of its kind to explore the landscape and role of services in substance use deaths, was conducted over two sites: south west England and Scotland. In stage 1 of the research, adopting both convenience and purposive sampling, data were collected via semi-structured interviews on experiences and support needs of bereaved individuals (n = 106). In stage 2, six focus groups were conducted with a purposive sample of practitioners (n = 40), including those working for the police, coroner’s service, procurator fiscal depute (Scotland), health service, funeral service, press, clergy, Public Health England, Drugs Policy Unit, bereavement counselling/support and alcohol and drug treatment services, to investigate how services may better respond to this bereavement. Thematic analysis from both data-sets identified two overarching themes. The first, focusing on practitioner responses, captures how these bereaved people may meet with inadequate, unkind, and discriminatory responses from services. Having to navigate unfamiliar, fragmented, and time-consuming procedures compounds the bereaved’s distress at an already difficult time, illustrated by a ‘mapping’ of relevant services. The second relates to challenges and opportunities for those responding. Service failures reflect practitioners’ poor understanding of both substance use bereavement and the range of other practitioners and services involved. Those bereaved are a poorly understood, neglected and stigmatised group of service users. There is a need for services to respond without judgement or insensitive language, and provide information about, communicate and work closely with, other services despite differences in working practices and cultures. These recommendations could positively affect bereaved peoples’ experiences, alleviating stress and overwhelm at a particularly vulnerable time.
Acknowledgements
We thank the bereaved people and practitioners from a range of services for so generously contributing their experiences to this study. We also thank research team members for their valuable comments on drafts. The study is dedicated to Joan Hollywood, a bereaved family member and core member of the research team who contributed to all aspects of the study. Joan died in March 2015.
Declaration of interests
The authors report no conflict of interests. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this article.
Supplemental Material
Supplemental data for this article can be accessed on the publisher’s website
Notes
1. For a fuller review of the literature, see Valentine et al. (Citation2016).
2. Discussion of the study’s second aim, to develop practice guidelines, is beyond the remit of this article.
3. Further details of the research team and where the research was based to be added on acceptance for publication.
4. Due to the sensitive nature of the topic we decided not to include those under 18. While we were hoping to include those from black and minority ethnic groups, we learned from a focus group member from a black and Asian led community-based charity that the families concerned tend not to accept the involvement of drugs in a death and therefore would be unlikely to consent to being interviewed.
5. Any names used in quotes are pseudonyms; ‘E’ and ‘S’ refer to interview/focus group participants in England and Scotland, respectively.
6. National organisations supporting families affected by drugs or alcohol.
7. Family Addiction and Support Services (FASS) in Glasgow works closely with Police Scotland.
