My projects regarding the lived-experience of healthcare professionals and caregivers during the Covid-19 pandemic take root in inspiring collaborations with Valérie Bourgeois-Guérin, Ph.D., and Mélanie Vachon, Ph.D., two researchers from Université du Québec à Montréal.

The COVID-19 pandemic brought important challenges regarding accompagniment, end-of-life care, and bereavement experiences. In Quebec, public health measures prevented or limited family visits for the dying people in long-term care homes (LTC), assisted living facilities (ALF), and hospitals. As a result, family members often had conflicting choices to make and faced moral dilemmas. Changes in end-of-life and care practices during the pandemic also affected healthcare professionals, who witnessed numerous deaths while having to adapt to constantly changing safety measures, lack of staff and material. This line of research focusses specifically on the lived-experience of caregivers, as well as managers and front-line staff during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Resulting Publications

Peer-Reviewed Articles

  1. Vachon, M., Ummel, D., Guité-Verret, A., Lessard, E., Girard, D. (2023). A phenomenological and clinical description of pandemic grief: How to adapt bereavement services? Palliative Medicine Reports. 4 (1), 53-63. https://doi.org/10.1089/pmr.2022.0060

  2. Vachon, M., Guité-Verret, A., Ummel, D., Girard, D., Lessard, E. (2023). “I couldn’t”: A phenomenological exploration of ethical tensions experienced by bereaved family members during the pandemic. International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-being. 18(1). 2186337. https://doi.org/10.1080/17482631.2023.21863371.

  3. Bourgeois-Guérin, V., Girard, D., Martin, C., Sussman, T., Gagnon, E., Simard, J., Van Pevenage., & Durivage., P. (2023). It Was Like Wartime: End-Of-Life and Bereavement in Long-Term Care Homes and Assisted Living Facilities During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Frontières. 33 (2). https://doi.org/10.7202/1095218ar.

Oral presentations

  1. Bourgeois-Guérin, V., Girard, D., Martin, C., et al. (2022, March). Décès et Deuil en RPA et CHSLD en contexte de pandémie de COVID-19. Conférences CREGES. Montreal, Canada.