“COVID robbed me of that”: navigating final conversations and grief during the COVID-19 pandemic

This study explores end-of-life communication through final conversations that occurred between family members during the COVID-19 pandemic and their grief responses. 62 participants who lost a loved one during COVID-19 completed an online mixed-method survey. Quantitative results indicated that nearly three-quarters of participants (71.64%) reported being unable to have a final conversation with their loved one, and many identified significant barriers such as hospital visitation restrictions and technological limitations that restricted conversations. These constraints hindered opportunities to express love, resolve relational issues, or achieve closure with their dying loved one. Qualitative analysis further revealed the emotional toll of disrupted communication, particularly when families were unable to be present or say goodbye. Themes such as uncertainty during the illness trajectory, barriers to saying goodbye, emotional and grief responses, and disrupted rituals and meaning-making were prominent across responses. The findings illustrate the profound impact of disrupted end-of-life communication on bereavement outcomes. This study contributes to a growing literature on final conversations by documenting how pandemic-era constraints altered familial connection and meaning-making at the end of life. Implications extend beyond COVID-19, offering direction for improving communication support in healthcare settings during future crises and situations involving restricted access to dying loved ones.