Paper
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
The grief experience of same-sex couples
Dr Michele Glacken, PhD, RGN, RM, Department of Nursing & Health Studies, St Angela's College, Sligo, Ireland and Agnes Higgins, MSc, BNS, RNT, RPN, RGN, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, Dublin, Ireland.
| Learning Objective #1: Describe the current state of knowledge on the grief experience of same sex couples. |
| Learning Objective #2: Identify strategies that could enhance the care/support offered to same sex couples by health and social care professionals.
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Despite the growing number of studies on grief and loss, a limited number of studies exist on the grief experience of same sex couples where, the cause of death is not HIV related. In view of this, and the growing recognition of the needs and rights of same sex couples, it was considered important to explore the grief experience of gay and lesbians persons following the death of their partner, in an Irish context. This paper will describe a qualitative study that explored the experiences of 8 bereaved persons. Data was collected via unstructured interviews and analysed using thematic analysis. An overview of the findings of the study will be presented, with special emphasis placed, on the theme ‘tacit acknowledgment’. This theme describes how the element of secrecy around the participants’ sexual identity perpetuated a cycle of isolation, which impacted on how they experience care before, during and after their partners’ death.