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. 2022 Dec;32(14):2102-2117.
doi: 10.1177/10497323221138027. Epub 2022 Nov 7.

LGBTQ+ Loss and Grief in a Cis-Heteronormative Pandemic: A Qualitative Evidence Synthesis of the COVID-19 Literature

James J Lucas  1   2 , Stéphane L Bouchoucha  2   3 , Rojan Afrouz  1 , Kirk Reed  1 , Sharon L Brennan-Olsen  1   2
Affiliations

LGBTQ+ Loss and Grief in a Cis-Heteronormative Pandemic: A Qualitative Evidence Synthesis of the COVID-19 Literature

James J Lucas et al. Qual Health Res. 2022 Dec.

Abstract

LGBTQ+ people are no stranger to loss and grief, particularly during times of pandemic such as the 1980s-90s HIV/AIDS pandemic and now, the COVID-19 pandemic. Current COVID-19 loss and grief research remains relatively silent on LGBTQ+ peoples' loss and grief experiences. The aim of this research was to conduct a qualitative evidence synthesis of LGBTQ+ people's COVID-19 loss and grief experiences reported in the literature. A systematic search and inclusion strategy identified 22 relevant articles for review. Inductive thematic synthesis resulted in five loss-focused themes across the articles: (1) loss of work and livelihood, (2) loss of social and kinship connection, (3) loss of LGBTQ+ community connection, (4) loss of physical and mental health supports and (5) loss of LGBTQ+ identity authenticity, affirmation and visibility. Discussion of these themes highlights the many layered and often disenfranchised nature of LGBTQ+ people's loss during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords: COVID-19; LGBTQ+; disenfranchised loss; grief; loss; pandemic; qualitative; review; synthesis.

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Conflict of interest statement

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
PRISMA-2020 flow diagram of the article screening and selection process.
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