Social media as a coping strategy for the bereaved family of a victim of COVID-19

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic altered the dynamics of care and the face of mourning by their victims relatives due the  restriction of the human contact and the deprivation of the fulnereal cerimonies. Thus, there is a need of implement strategies that facilitate the mourning process by the family. For that matter, the social medias can be a comunication chanel that minimizes the distance and the deprivation of farewell. Therefore, the aim of this study is to apprehend the perception about the social medias use as a contat chanell to the confrotation of the social isolation in preparation for the grief of a relative lost as a COVID-19 victim. We conducted a study with a qualitative descritive approach, with a contetnt analysis adaptation of the interview transmited on the television program Fantástico granted by the  priest Fábio de Medo, who lost his mother Ana Maria, victim of COVID-19,  in conjunction with  the analysis of the frequency, order and co-occurence of the deduced codes. Then, after the transcription analysis of the interview, we  apprehend the thematic categories: mourning and processing the mourning. Mourning was often referred to loss and to bolding and collective mourning.  Furthermore, the processing the mourning categorie referred to memories, to religiosity and spirituality and to social medias. There were no associantions between social medias and the mourning corresponding rates, however we notest that social medias were related in context units that also referred to mourning, as well as preceded statements with aspects about processing the mourning. Finally, we verified that the social medias enable the comunication between the patient, their relatives and the health care team, confirming the hypothesis of this study, as far as it may help in the mourning process when related to the religiosity, the spirituality and the collective mourning aspects.