Highlights
- Quantitative studies about therapeutic benefits are limited and findings are mixed.
- Qualitative studies find many positive attributes of online support groups for users.
- Users' experiences of grief understood, accepted, and normalised.
- An emotionally supportive space where grief can be openly expressed any time.
- Occasional distress when reading others' messages - but overall benefits prevail.
The present systematic review is the first to examine the quantitative and qualitative evidence about the potential usefulness of online peer support groups for bereaved persons. It aimed to determine: whether online support groups reduce grief-related symptoms for persons who are grieving; and the positive and negative attributes of online support groups experienced by bereaved users of these groups.
A comprehensive search within major article databases and Google Scholar, and hand searching of reference lists in retrieved articles, resulted in nine peer-reviewed, scholarly studies that met the inclusion criteria. These quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods studies were assessed using the MMAT quality appraisal tool, and their findings were critically synthesised using a narrative and thematic approach.
Insufficient, high-quality quantitative research prevented conclusions being drawn about the effect of online support groups on grief-related symptoms.
However, the qualitative evidence shows that there are clear positive attributes of online peer support that are valued by bereaved users.
These include being part of an understanding community of persons who have experienced a similar loss, emotional support, sharing of information, remembrance, reconstruction of a sense of identity, and a realisation of the changing nature of grief over time.
Until there is evidence of therapeutic effects, it seems that online support groups may be a useful adjunct to, but not alternative to, grief therapy or counselling.
Recommendations for much needed research are given.
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