COVIDEUIL: A Comprehensive Canada-wide Study - The health implications of losing someone in the pandemic

SAGUENAY, QC, Jan. 26, 2022 /CNW Telbec/ - Outside the 32,000 direct deaths COVID-19 has caused in Canada since March 2020, it has also taken a toll on the survivors. Given all the health restrictions, how do you care for someone in their last days or give them a proper funeral service? What longer-term effects do these restrictions have on people who are grieving? Funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, a research team will take a deep dive into these and other questions in a Canada-wide scientific study over the next four years. Specifically, their work will focus on changes in the physical, social, mental, and spiritual health of the bereaved.

The aim of the study is to assess these health outcomes and identify factors that may explain health deterioration or protection along bereavement trajectories. The model explaining changes in the health of the bereaved during the pandemic will provide policymakers and health and social services professionals with key insight into risk and protective factors. Says researcher Jacques Cherblanc, Associate Professor in the Department of Human and Social Sciences and Director of the Religious Studies, Ethics and Philosophy Teaching Unit at Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, the study will help "determine whether persons grieving during the pandemic require special attention, but also help us better understand their needs."

The study involves researchers from Québec and Ontario: professors Jacques Cherblanc, PhD, Christiane Bergeron-Leclerc, PhD, Danielle Maltais, PhD, and Chantale Simard, PhD, from Université du Québec à Chicoutimi; professors Josée Grenier, PhD, Chantal Verdon, and Éric Tchouaket from Université du Québec en Outaouais; Professor Susan Cadell, PhD, from the University of Waterloo; and Professor David K. Wright, PhD, from the University of Ottawa.

Call for participants: An opportunity to share your experience
Individuals who have lost a loved one since March 2020—regardless of the cause of death—are invited to participate in an online survey starting today and running through 2025. Participants must be 18 or older, live in Canada (be a citizen or permanent resident), and have lost a loved one since March 12, 2020, no matter the circumstances. Visit www.uqac.ca/covideuil to take part. The questionnaire takes about 25 minutes to fill out.

For more information: http://uqac.ca/covideuil
Email: [email protected]

About UQAC: Founded in 1969, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi (UQAC) is part of Université du Québec, Canada's largest university network. UQAC has over 60,000 graduates and welcomes 6,500 students each year, including 1,550 from some 50 countries all over the world. Known for fostering close ties between professors and students, UQAC offers a unique experience and more than 200 programs of study. It is recognized as one of Québec's most prolific universities in terms of research partnerships. Since its founding, UQAC has developed and continues to expand its international profile in a number of research niches.

SOURCE Université du Québec à Chicoutimi

Karine Gagnon, Information Officer, Media Relations and Public Communications, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, 418-480-8674 | [email protected]