Effectiveness of “Primary Bereavement Care” for Widows: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial Involving Family Physicians

Thirty-one family physicians, from 19 primary care teams in Biscay (Spain), were randomly assigned to intervention or control group. The 15 intervention family physicians, after training in primary bereavement care, saw 43 widows for 7 sessions, from the 4th to 13th month after their loss. The 16 control family physicians, without primary bereavement care training, saw 44 widows for 7 ordinary appointments, with the same schedule. Outcome measures were collected at 4, 10, 16, and 24 months after the loss. A linear mixed model was used. No significant differences were found in favor of the intervention group on grief, and indeed control group widows experienced more improvement in somatization, general health, and general emotional outcomes.