Bereavement care is a core element of palliative care. It includes care of the patient after death and care for the family and friends.
When death is expected, there may be anticipatory grief and therefore bereavement care may start before the death of the patient.
Bereavement is an experience of the death of a loved one, whereas grief is the response of sorrow or distress following death. Grief is a transitional process, through which people assimilate the reality of their loss and find a way of living without the deceased. Grief is not just an emotional experience, it has behavioural, cognitive, physical, social and spiritual dimensions.

Common Reactions to Bereavement  

Emotions	Behaviours
Agitation	Alcohol abuse
Anger	Fatigue
Anxiety	Tearfulness
Depression	Physiological changes
Loneliness	Dry mouth
Relief	Hair loss
Attitude	Headaches
Hopelessness	Indigestion
Low self-esteem	Insomnia
Self-reproach	Loss of appetite, weight loss
Sense of unreality	Muscular pains
Social withdrawal	Palpitations
Suspicion	Shortness of breath

Bereavement is associated with increased deaths due to cardiovascular diseases, in the months after losing a loved one. There is a great suffering from physical and mental illness, infections and alcohol abuse.

Bereavement Care

Bereavement care includes excellent care of the loved ones before death of the patient, Good communication and the rapport build up with the family.

To reduce the ongoing stress, one should facilitate prompt verification and certification of death, remove equipment and drugs. One of the team member should be available to answer all the questions of the loved ones.

People who offer bereavement support include family physicians, palliative care nurses, family members and friends.

For most bereaved people, a supportive - expressive approach is to invite them to talk about their feelings and listening attentively.

The goal of bereavement care is to enable people to build up their strength and to develop their own coping strategies. Reactions to bereavement range from immediate to delayed, brief to prolonged and mild to severe. Most people work through their grief with support from family and friends. Some people develop complicated grief and need the services of a psychologist or psychiatrist.