PhD habil. egyetemi docens, mentálhigiénés szakember, hospice- és gyásztanácsadó
okleveles ápoló, hospice szakápoló és koordinátor
Abstract ♦ Hospice care has existed in Hungary since 1991 and has been funded by social insurance since 2005. Unfortunately, the period of the Covid epidemic severely set back the activities of hospice departments and home care providers and they have been facing many difficulties ever since. As a result, the number of hospice home care providers is decreasing year by year, even though it is a huge help for families with serious illnesses to be able to keep patients at home and receive adequate support. In 2023, almost 54% of patients receiving hospice home care died at home. In institutional care, the number of cases has increased significantly, with bed occupancy rising by 15%. The dedication of hospice workers is shown by the fact that, despite their difficult working conditions, a total of 1168 people attended various training courses (accredited and non-accredited) in 2023.
Abstract ♦ A key theme in the bereavement literature is the recognition that every grief experience is unique and dependent on many variables, such as the circumstances of the death, characteristics of the bereaved individual, their relationship with the deceased, the provision and availability of support, and a myriad of sociocultural factors. Concurrently, there are corresponding efforts to define “normal” grief and delineate it from “complicated” grief experiences. The discord between these two potentially opposing statements remains a paradox evident within the three major tensions within the thanatological literature—the dominance of grief theories, the medicalization of grief, and the efficacy of grief interventions. Three recommendations for moving beyond the paradox are discussed—the provision of improved grief education for service providers, the bereaved, and the wider community; the conduct of research that emphasizes the context of grief and is relevant to service provision; and the examination of current grief interventions.