Canadian Grief Alliance Survey Results
The Canadian Grief Alliance published their results on the National Public Consultation on Grief this past week and I thought I would share some of their findings. This data is taken directly from their report published May 21, 2024
1. 3874 people were surveyed from every province and territory
2. 50 % didn’t feel adequately supported in their grief
3. 53% felt their grief wasn’t adequately recognized
4. The commonly reported causes of grief were:
Death of someone close (93%0
Anticipation of someone’s death (55%)
Loss of a pet (51%)
End of a relationship (45%)
Loss of physical or mental health (43%)
Loss of sense of self (30%)
Loss of confidence in the future (28%)
Loss of a dream or goal (26%)
Loss of a job, career or business (26%)
Loss of financial stability (24%)
Loss of a pregnancy (16%)
5. ¾ of respondents sought some kind of support
6. Roughly 25% did not seek support, citing reasons such as:
didn’t need support (15%)
felt they should deal with it on their own (22%)
discomfort sharing their grief (12%)
wouldn’t be understood (10%)
didn’t recognize their loss as grief (6%)
7. A number of frequently accessed sources of support were reported to be less helpful than people hoped including healthcare systems, employer resources and helplines
8. 83% identified being asked about their loss as helpful
9. 93% identified being asked how they could best be supported as helpful
10. 54% wanted more access to one-on-one grief counselling
11. 52% said educating the public on how to better support each other was needed
12. 45% wanted an increase in access to supports tailored to specific types of loss
13. There was substantial support for making private grief services more financially accessible, holding community events that encourage talking and learning about grief and loss together, and more access to peer and group support
I thought this was very interesting and it makes it clear that Canada needs to do better in the provision of grief services and bereavement leaves.
