Trauma-Informed End-of-Life Care

NHPCO is committed to ensuring hospice and palliative professionals and volunteers are knowledgeable about trauma-informed end-of-life care and that they practice in manner that actively resists traumatization or re-traumatization of those receiving and providing care. To this end, NHPCO has formed a Work Group to define the term, educate hospice and palliative care professionals and volunteers, and support the provision of trauma-informed end-of-life care.

• • • Trauma Informed Care for Persons with Dementia, Brain Failure and Cognitive Impairment (Hospice of the Western Reserve, Inc.)
    • Questions and Answers about Trauma-Informed End-of-Life Care
    • Trauma Informed End-of-Life Care
    • E-OL Course on Trauma‐Informed End-of-Life Care
    • Trauma-Informed End-of-Life Care Resources
    • We Honor Veterans Trauma-Informed Care Resources
    • Caring for Holocaust Survivors with Sensitivity at End of Life: A Guidebook for Clinicians (MJHS)
    • Trauma-Informed End-of-Life Care Work Group

2021 Resources Series – New

• • • Trauma Informed End-of-Life Care – An Introduction to NHPCO’s Resource Series
    • Change and Measuring Success – A Reflection
    • How Leaders can Measuring Success During a Pandemic
    • Nursing Homes and Trauma-Informed Care
    • Moral Distress

Resources for Easing Stress and Trauma in Time of COVID-19

• • • The VA has created and made public many mental health apps for a variety of conditions including PTSD, mindfulness, insomnia, strengthening parenting skills and anger management. They are available to anyone to use; VA affiliation is not required.
    • COVID-19 Lessons: The Alignment of Palliative Medicine and Trauma-Informed Care (Journal of Pain and Symptom Management)
    • National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement
    • Stress First Aid for Long-Term Care Staff
    • COVID-19: Where Doctors Can Get Help for Emotional Distress.
    • The Wellness Society’s workbook addressing anxiety in the time of COVID-19.
    • The National Center for PTSD continuously posts resources related to COVID-19.
    • Ithaca College Gerontology Institute has resources for older adults and caregivers.

Grief Related Resources
The toll of COVID-19 on family members cannot be understated. For every death, it is estimated that there will be a minimum of nine bereaved family members. The consequences of the death of a loved one in addition to all the secondary losses experienced during a pandemic as well as other natural disasters and mass casualty events can be traumatic, trigger trauma symptoms and have dire consequences.

The hidden perils of unresolved grief
McKinsey Quarterly | September 10, 2020

America isn’t ready for the coming wave of grief
Opinion by David M. Perry | February 11, 2021

What elements of a systems’ approach to bereavement are most effective in times of mass bereavement? A narrative systematic review with lessons for COVID-19
SAGE Journals | Volume: 34 issue: 9, page(s): 1165-1181
Article first published online: July 31, 2020; Issue published: October 1, 2020