You do not currently have permission to view the full text for this document. Please sign in to an account with an active subscription or contact support.
This is a monograph prepared by the Committee on Health Consequences of the Stress of Bereavement of the Institute of Medicine. This multidisciplinary committee was appointed at the request of the Office of Prevention of the National Institute of Mental Health to
study the process of bereavement and was cofunded by the Kenworthy-Swift Foundation. The 21-member committee, chaired by Morris Green, M.D., Lesh Professor and Chairman, Department of Pediatrics, Indiana University School of Medicine, included members of the Institute of Medicine, and additional members selected from the general academic medical and scholarly community—all widely acknowledged experts in the field. In addition, contributions to the book were made by consultants in specialized areas. (The Institute of Medicine was chartered in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences for the purpose of examining public health policy matters.) The committee was instructed to review research on health consequences of bereavement; to outline especially important research to pursue in the future, to make recommendations concerning interventions that might be generally adopted in health care systems; to identify interventions which might not be of proven efficacy, but which should be promptly tested for their value.
Bereavement: Reactions, Consequences and Care is the final report of the committee's study. The volume is divided into three major sections: Bereavement: Reactions and Consequences includes chapters on epidemiologic perspectives on health consequences, adult, adolescent and childhood reactions to bereavement, and various types of bereavement (i.e., death of a child, death of a spouse, bereavement following suicide). Perspectives on Bereavement includes chapters on the biological aspects of grieving, monkeys' responses to separation and loss, sociocultural influences on the bereavement process. Assisting the Bereaved includes the role of health care professionals and institutions, and interv