Description and use of the SEoGS questionnaire as an evaluation tool for bereavement services for adolescents and adults

Design of the SEoGS questionnaire as a tool for evaluating bereavement care services for adolescents and adults

Abstract

The paper is based on an evaluation research framework and presents the first version of a questionnaire called the Subjective Evaluation of Grief Support based on the use of the construct method for questionnaire development. This uses the principles of the Goal Attainment Scale in terms of measurement level and the construct of integrated grief to formulate the items. The present questionnaire is described in its longer and shorter versions. Given that it is a subjectively framed assessment of the impact of bereavement services, it is particularly useful where it is not feasible to use data collection on expressions of grief even before services are initiated. This use is a strength, as is its focus on achieving integrated grieving - that is, not on experienced complications and difficulties. The weakness (related to the fact that it is a questionnaire designed to subjectively assess service measurement at the end of service provision) is that it cannot be used in its current form to objectively assess the impact of service use.