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Utility of a Grief Services Program for Medical Examiners' Offices
Author(s) -
Berry Ryan S.,
Aurelius Michelle B.,
Barickman Nancy,
Lathrop Sarah L.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of forensic sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.715
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1556-4029
pISSN - 0022-1198
DOI - 10.1111/1556-4029.12043
Subject(s) - coroner , medical examiner , grief , homicide , medicine , medical emergency , hotline , suicide prevention , family medicine , poison control , psychiatry , telecommunications , computer science
Medical examiner/coroner's ( ME /C) offices investigate sudden, violent, and unexpected deaths, leaving those close to the deceased suffering traumatic loss with little in terms of support and counseling. We investigated a grief services program ( GSP ) at the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator ( OMI ) to better understand the needs of bereaved individuals, identify the services provided, and propose our findings as a model for others. A total of 1085 contacts occurred over 1 year, with the majority occurring at OMI (60.5%), followed by telephone (23.1%). Support was primarily provided to those suffering a loss due to homicide (28.8%) and suicide (26.1%). The roles grief counselors play in the setting of a GSP and ME /C office are multiple. Given the frequent utilization of OMI 's GSP and diverse reasons for visits, it is apparent there is a need for GSP s at ME /C offices, particularly given the traumatic nature of deaths investigated by ME /Cs.