A systematic review of the accessibility and visibility of bereavement related support for UK and Ireland university students

Julie Graham; Enya Redican; Orla McBride; Jamie Murphy; Philip Hyland; Mark Shevlin

doi:10.1080/07481187.2025.2561082

A systematic review of the accessibility and visibility of bereavement related support for UK and Ireland university students

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Abstract

Bereavement is one of the most frequently reported stressors for university students, yet the extent of support offered by UK and Ireland universities is largely unknown. A systematic search of all UK and Ireland university public-facing only websites was conducted during 2024–2025 to assess the provision of ten bereavement-related support types. Support types were aggregated producing a total bereavement friendly score out of 30 for each university. Correlation analyses were conducted to examine the association between these scores and external measures of university performance. Findings indicated that the visibility of bereavement support information was generally poor. Institutional bereavement friendly scores (M = 14.15) correlated positively with external university quality scores and negatively with student non-continuation figures. This review demonstrates the poor accessibility and visibility of support for bereaved students on university public-facing websites, underscoring the need for websites to incorporate comprehensive bereavement guidance conveying advice and available support.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1-8
Number of pages	8
Journal	Death Studies
Early online date	20 Sept 2025
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2025.2561082
Publication status	Published online - 20 Sept 2025

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2025 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Funding

This work was supported by a Department for the Economy PhD studentship. The Department for the Economy had no role in the study design; the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; the writing of the report; or the decision to submit the article for publication.

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being

Keywords

bereavement benefit
university students
support

Access to Document

10.1080/07481187.2025.2561082

A systematic review of the accessibility and visibility of bereavement related support for UK and Ireland university students.cleanedFinal published version, 1.6 MBLicence: CC BY

Cite this

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abstract = "Bereavement is one of the most frequently reported stressors for university students, yet the extent of support offered by UK and Ireland universities is largely unknown. A systematic search of all UK and Ireland university public-facing only websites was conducted during 2024–2025 to assess the provision of ten bereavement-related support types. Support types were aggregated producing a total bereavement friendly score out of 30 for each university. Correlation analyses were conducted to examine the association between these scores and external measures of university performance. Findings indicated that the visibility of bereavement support information was generally poor. Institutional bereavement friendly scores (M = 14.15) correlated positively with external university quality scores and negatively with student non-continuation figures. This review demonstrates the poor accessibility and visibility of support for bereaved students on university public-facing websites, underscoring the need for websites to incorporate comprehensive bereavement guidance conveying advice and available support.",

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AU - Murphy, Jamie

AU - Hyland, Philip

AU - Shevlin, Mark

PY - 2025/9/20

Y1 - 2025/9/20

N2 - Bereavement is one of the most frequently reported stressors for university students, yet the extent of support offered by UK and Ireland universities is largely unknown. A systematic search of all UK and Ireland university public-facing only websites was conducted during 2024–2025 to assess the provision of ten bereavement-related support types. Support types were aggregated producing a total bereavement friendly score out of 30 for each university. Correlation analyses were conducted to examine the association between these scores and external measures of university performance. Findings indicated that the visibility of bereavement support information was generally poor. Institutional bereavement friendly scores (M = 14.15) correlated positively with external university quality scores and negatively with student non-continuation figures. This review demonstrates the poor accessibility and visibility of support for bereaved students on university public-facing websites, underscoring the need for websites to incorporate comprehensive bereavement guidance conveying advice and available support.

AB - Bereavement is one of the most frequently reported stressors for university students, yet the extent of support offered by UK and Ireland universities is largely unknown. A systematic search of all UK and Ireland university public-facing only websites was conducted during 2024–2025 to assess the provision of ten bereavement-related support types. Support types were aggregated producing a total bereavement friendly score out of 30 for each university. Correlation analyses were conducted to examine the association between these scores and external measures of university performance. Findings indicated that the visibility of bereavement support information was generally poor. Institutional bereavement friendly scores (M = 14.15) correlated positively with external university quality scores and negatively with student non-continuation figures. This review demonstrates the poor accessibility and visibility of support for bereaved students on university public-facing websites, underscoring the need for websites to incorporate comprehensive bereavement guidance conveying advice and available support.

KW - bereavement benefit

KW - university students

KW - support

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ER -

A systematic review of the accessibility and visibility of bereavement related support for UK and Ireland university students

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Funding

UN SDGs

Keywords

Access to Document

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