Peer Support for Grieving Parents in Goa, India
Grant Awardee: Miriam Sequeira
This project aimed to establish a peer support group for bereaved parents in Goa and create a safe space for parents to share experiences and receive support following the loss of a child. The project used multiple community outreach and dissemination strategies, including engagement with hospitals and healthcare professionals, printed and digital materials, bus advertisements, media coverage, social media campaigns, and an advisory group of bereaved parents. Due to limited registrations, the project also developed a self-help booklet on coping with grief and generated important learnings to inform future exploratory research.
Project Highlights:
Engaged healthcare professionals across five hospitals and health centres in Goa to raise awareness about parental bereavement and encourage referrals.
Developed and distributed English, Hindi, and Konkani information materials through hospitals, WhatsApp, and Sangath’s social media platforms.
Established a Project Advisory Group of four bereaved parents with lived experience to guide dissemination strategies and review project materials.
Promoted the support group through bus advertisements across Goa for one month and received media coverage in the Times of India.
Developed an animated video addressing common barriers and concerns around joining a peer support group.
Adapted the outreach strategy after limited response by shifting the call-to-action towards one-to-one conversations with bereaved parents and co-development of future support interventions.
Developed a self-help booklet on coping with grief, available in both online and printed formats, using project funds.
Although no parents enrolled in the proposed peer support group, the project generated important insights into the barriers to seeking support and the need for further exploration of parental bereavement in India.
The project has informed plans for an exploratory research study examining grief experiences, help-seeking barriers, coping strategies, and the support needs of bereaved parents in India.
Established a foundation for future co-development of culturally relevant and acceptable interventions for bereaved parents.