Death notification in clinical practice: protocols, clinician impact and family outcomes

Death notification (DN) is a critical clinical task that initiates and influences the bereavement trajectory and carries profound implications for clinician well-being. Evidence links DN quality to cognitive-emotional processing of loss, attachment reorganisation and mobilisation of social support. A diverse ecosystem of DN protocols offers stepwise guidance, but outcome data, cultural adaptation and notifier support remain limited. Drawing on DN protocol methodology, DN and prolonged grief disorder mechanisms and contemporary grief theory, this State of the Science article argues that DN should be understood and operationalised as a mechanism-informed, trauma-aware intervention central to palliative and supportive care.