Understanding the bereavement experience of grandparents following the death of a grandchild from a life‐limiting condition: A meta‐ethnography

Aim: To increase understanding of grandparental grief following the death of a grandchild from a life‐limiting condition.

Design: Meta‐ethnography.

Data sources: Academic Search Complete CINHAL, Embase, psycINFO, PubMed and Web of Science, supplemented by manual search strategies (in 2015, updated 2018).Review methodsStudies were appraised and synthesized using the principles of meta‐ethnography.

Findings: Three superordinate themes were identified: ‘influence of the relationship with their grandchild’, ‘influence of the relationship with the grandchild's family’ and ‘pain’. The simultaneous, multigenerational position of grandparents meant individuals experience emotional pain from witnessing the experience of family members.

Conclusion: Many factors that contribute to the bereavement experience of grandparents are outside of their control. The roles, positions, and support needs of grandparents need to be acknowledged to better meet their needs as parents, grandparents, and individuals who have experienced a child death.