Meeting the bereavement needs of older adults with cognitive challenges

Terry Glendinning
Wed, 22 Apr 2026 17:42:57 PDT

Approximately 5.5 million people in the United States are living with cognitive challenges such as Alzheimer's and other dementias. People with cognitive challenges, following the death of a loved one, often experience unacknowledged grief. This paper first describes grief as it occurs in older adults who are not cognitively challenged. This is followed by a review of literature focusing on the grief of older adults with cognitive challenges. The project looks at methods for accommodating the cognitive and communication needs of this population as they work through their grief process.