The Experience of Separation and Grief Among Family Members of Hospitalized African American Patients Who Expired FromCOVID-19

Abstract

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic highlighted multiple consternations in our healthcare system, among which were the lack of preparedness of our federal public health response, impact on our frontline responders, recognition and contributions and burden on our essential workers, and disparity in health challenges and outcomes among minority patients diagnosed with the disease. However, little focus has been given to understanding the experience of abrupt separation and grief on the family members of COVID-19 patients. The purpose of this study was to understand, using a phenomenological design, the experience of separation and grief among family members of a group of African American patients who were hospitalized and subsequently expired from COVID-19 during the first surge of the pandemic. A purposive sample of 10 family members of patients who were hospitalized with and later expired from COVID-19 were recruited. Data collection was conducted using unstructured interviews. To capture the essences and meaning of this lived experience, the study was underpinned by Heidegger’s ( 1962) phenomenological perspective and was guided by van Manen’s ( 1990) methodological activities. The findings revealed that, for these participants, lived time was a marker of the rhythmic patterns of events during the experience, lived space was the confrontation of new limitations amid the dynamics of chaos and uncertainty, and lived relation (i.e., relationality) highlighted the caring/noncaring attributes of social and healthcare networks and their embrace of spirituality while coping with stigma and blame. Lived body emoted the parallel physical and emotional manifestation of the disease.