Each year, in Ireland, thousands of people are affected by a suicide death. These individuals often require supports following their loss, the nature of which are often distinct to those offered to people bereaved by other causes. Despite knowing that suicide bereavement can impact negatively on a person’s physical and mental health, little is known about how well supports and therapies can help a person with their loss. Healing Untold Grief Group (HUGG) is a charitable organisation established in 2017, with a view to providing community-based peer-support groups to adults who have been bereaved by suicide. Due to COVID-19, these peer-support groups moved from fortnightly in-person face-to-face sessions to an online virtual format. The aim of this research project is to examine the impact that this move to an online format had on the peer-support groups, from both attendee and group facilitator perspectives. The study will investigate, via a survey of group attendees and focus groups with the group facilitators, the potential limitations and/or benefits of this move to an online virtual format.
The project will be completed as part of a larger independent research study, conducted by researchers at the National Suicide Research Foundation and University College Cork, which is examining the outcomes of individuals, bereaved by suicide, who are attending these peer-support groups. Further investigating the impact of hosting the support groups online will complement this ongoing work, with a view to improving the experience for those receiving such supports in the future.
