Objectives/purpose: The majority of patients who receive palliative care have a cancer diagnosis. Bereavement care is a critical yet often overlooked component of comprehensive cancer care. Despite its importance, bereavement support remains inconsistently delivered, under-resourced, and rarely tailored to individual needs. To address this gap, an evidence-based stepped care bereavement model was developed to provide scalable, needs-based support. This study aimed to explore the feasibility and acceptability of implementing the stepped care bereavement model within a New South Wales (NSW) palliative care service and to identify any tailoring needed for implementation into routine care.
Sample and setting: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 25 palliative care and oncology professionals across a NSW Local Health District.
Procedures: Interviews explored current bereavement care practices, including roles, responsibilities, and referral pathways. Perceptions of the proposed model’s feasibility and potential implementation barriers were discussed. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and thematically analysed.
Results: Four key themes were identified: (1) Recognition of the model’s value alongside concerns about implementation challenges; (2) Strong support for a structured, formalised approach to bereavement risk screening; (3) Concerns regarding current bereavement care resourcing; and (4) The need for targeted training and ongoing support to enable effective delivery.
Conclusion and clinical implications: The stepped care bereavement model was viewed as both feasible and acceptable by stakeholders. However, successful implementation will require investment in workforce training, development of a standardised risk screening protocol, and increased resourcing. These findings offer critical insights to inform implementation strategies to support the integration of structured bereavement care in oncology and palliative care services.