Associations between grief, depression, and productivity loss among the bereaved families of individuals with cancer.

AIM: This study aimed to examine the impact of grief and depression on reduced productivity in and outside work among bereaved family members of individuals with cancer.

METHODS

We used the data from the J-HOPE-4 study, a nationwide cross-sectional survey involving the bereaved families of individuals with cancer in inpatient hospices and palliative care units across Japan. We evaluated the participants' level of grief on the Brief Grief Questionnaire, their level of depression on the Patient Health Questionnaire, and their level of productivity loss on the Work Productivity and Activity Impairment Questionnaire.

RESULTS

Of the participating 902 bereaved families, 98 individuals (10.9%) corresponded to probable prolonged grief disorder (PGD) and 367 (40.7%) to possible PGD. Of the 217 individuals (24.1%) corresponded to mild depression, 89 (9.9%) to moderate depression, and 44 (4.9%) to moderate-to-severe depression. The work-related productivity losses in possible and probable PGD samples were 12.6% and 15.7%, respectively. The work-related productivity losses due to mild, moderate, and moderate-to-severe depression were 8.8%, 19.4%, and 32.5%, respectively. The productivity losses outside work in individuals with possible and probable PGD were 21.6% and 30.9%, respectively. The productivity losses in mild, moderate, and moderate-to-severe depression were 22.6%, 32.8%, and 37.0%, respectively.

CONCLUSION

The impact of grief on productivity loss was comparable with that of mild to moderate depression. Both the severity of grief and depression were significantly associated with productivity losses outside work, while only depression was significantly associated with work-related productivity loss.