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 | |
| 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.
Keywords
- bereavement benefit
- university students
- support
