Table 2 Details of included quantitative studies

W Ahrens, R Hart and N Maruyama [50] 1997

Pediatric death: managing the aftermath in the emergency department

SIDS parents

Postal questionnaire survey

100%

N = 37

USA

A Dent, L Condon, P Blair and P Fleming [10] 1996

A study of bereavement care after a sudden and unexpected death.

Parents of children dying suddenly

Postal questionnaire survey

50%

N = 42

United Kingdom

MA DiMarco, EM Menke and T McNamara [48] 2001

Evaluating a support group for perinatal loss

Parents of infants dying perinatally

Postal questionnaire survey

Minimal data

N = 121

USA

I Finlay and D Dallimore [9] 1991

Your child is dead

Parents of children dying of any cause at any age

Postal questionnaire survey

100%

N = 120

United Kingdom

MB Harper and NB Wisian [57] 1994

Care of bereaved parents. A study of patient satisfaction

Parents of infants dying perinatally and in infancy

Postal questionnaire survey or questionnaire distributed at support group

66%

N = 28

USA

A Hazzard, J Weston and C Gutterres [60] 1992

After a child's death: factors related to parental bereavement

Parents of children dying of any cause at any age

Structured interview

Minimal data

N = 45

USA

J Krauel Vidal, M Silva Vazquez, M Ibanez Fanes, R Florensa Palau and J Moreno Hernando [59] (translated from Spanish) 1992

Attitude towards parents after the death of their newborn infant in a neonatal unit

Parents of infants dying on neonatal units

Postal questionnaire survey

100%

N = 49

Spain

H Laakso and M Paunonen-Ilmonen [59] 2002

Mothers’ experience of social support following the death of a child

Mothers of children dying under age 7 years.

Questionnaire and structured interview

50%

N = 91

Finland

A Livesey [51] 2005

A multiagency protocol for responding to sudden unexpected death in infancy: descriptive study

Parents of infants dying suddenly and unexpectedly

Postal questionnaire survey as part of audit of practice

Minimal data

N = 29

United Kingdom

AJ Macnab, T Northway, K Ryall, D Scott and G Straw [23] 2003

Death and bereavement in a paediatric intensive care unit: Parental perceptions of staff support

Parents of children dying on intensive care unit

Questionnaire and structured interview

100%

N = 24

Canada

M McDonnell, A Cullen, B Kiberd, M Mehanni and T Matthews [52] 1999

A national model of care service for professionals dealing with sudden infant death

Parents of infants dying of SIDS

Structured interview

50%

N = 131

Republic of Ireland

EC Meyer, JP Burns, JL Griffith and RD Truog [56] 2002

Parental perspectives on end-of-life care in the pediatric intensive care unit

Parents of children dying on paediatric intensive care units

Postal questionnaire survey

33%

N = 56

USA

JR Neidig and P Dalgas-Pelish [25] 1991

Parental grieving and perceptions regarding health care professionals’ interventions

Parents of children dying of any cause at any age.

Postal questionnaire survey

25%

N = 22

USA

RC Oliver, JP Sturtevant, JP Scheetz and ME Fallat [33] 2001

Beneficial effects of a hospital bereavement intervention program after traumatic childhood death

Parents of children dying from trauma

Structured interview

Minimal data

N = 54

USA

BM Ostfeld, T Ryan, M Hiatt and T Hegyi [58] 1993

Maternal grief after sudden infant death syndrome

Parents of infants dying of SIDS

Postal questionnaire survey

Minimal data

N = 38

USA

M Powell [53] 1991

Sudden infant death syndrome: a crisis for parents and health professionals

Parents of infants dying of SIDS

Structured interview

25%

N = 40

Republic of Ireland

HA Rahman and TY Khong [45] 1995

Perinatal and infant postmortem examination. Survey of women's reactions to perinatal necropsy.

Mothers of infants dying perinatally

Telephone questionnaire survey

100% (published as letter only)

N = 29

Australia

J Rankin, C Wright and T Lind [43] 2002

Cross sectional survey of parents’ experience and views of the postmortem examination

Mothers of infants dying perinatally or in infancy

Postal questionnaire survey

100%

N = 148

United Kingdom

Royal College of Pathologists and Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health [31] 2004

Sudden Unexpected Death in Infancy; A multi-agency protocol for care and investigation

Parents of infants dying of SIDS

Postal questionnaire survey and comments made to support group by other parents

100%

N = 892

United Kingdom

PR Sexton and SB Stephen [24] 1991

Postpartum mothers’ perceptions of nursing interventions for perinatal grief.

Mothers of infants dying perinatally

Telephone questionnaire survey

50%

N = 30

USA

DJ Spooren, H Henderick and C Jannes [36] 2000

Survey description of stress of parents bereaved from a child killed in a traffic accident. A retrospective study of a victim support group

Parents of children dying in road traffic accidents

Postal questionnaire survey

25%

N = 85

Belgium

J Sullivan and P Monagle [32] 2011

Bereaved parents’ perceptions of the autopsy examination of their child

Parents of children undergoing autopsy

Postal questionnaire survey

50%

N = 53

Australia

B Teklay, LB Wiwe and JL Thomsen [34] 2005

Contact with relatives after forensic autopsies

Relatives of patients having forensic autopsy

Case record review by pathology department

100%

N = 360

Denmark

F Thuen [37] 1997

Social Support after the Loss of an Infant Child: A Long-Term Perspective.

Parents of infants dying of SIDS

Postal questionnaire survey

Minimal data

N = 251

Norway

MMT Vennemann, C Rentsch, T Bajanowski and G Zimmer [42] 2006

Are autopsies of help to the parents of SIDS victims? A follow-up on SIDS families.

Parents of infants dying of SIDS

Postal questionnaire survey

100%

N = 141

Germany