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Psychiatry and Behavioral Health

Estimates and Projections of COVID-19 and Parental Death in the US

Educational Objective
To identify the key insights or developments described in this article

1 Credit CME

JAMA Pediatrics

Published Online: April 5, 2021

Research Letter

Article Information and Disclosures

Rachel Kidman, PhD^1,2;

Rachel Margolis, PhD³;

Emily Smith-Greenaway, PhD⁴;

Ashton M. Verdery, PhD⁵

Author Affiliations

¹Program in Public Health, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York
²Family, Population, and Preventive Medicine, Renaissance School of Medicine, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York
³Department of Sociology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
⁴Department of Sociology and Spatial Sciences Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles
⁵Department of Sociology and Criminology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park

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The scale of COVID-19 mortality in the United States, including among prime-age adults, merits efforts to continuously track how many children are affected by parental death. Children who lose a parent are at elevated risk of traumatic grief, depression, poor educational outcomes, and unintentional death or suicide, and these consequences can persist into adulthood.¹ Sudden parental death, such as that occurring owing to COVID-19, can be particularly traumatizing for children and leave families ill prepared to navigate its consequences. Moreover, COVID-19 losses are occurring at a time of social isolation, institutional strain, and economic hardship, potentially leaving bereaved children without the supports they need.

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Article Information

Corresponding Author: Rachel Kidman, PhD, Stony Brook University, 101 Nicolls Rd, Stony Brook, NY 11794 (rachel.kidman@stonybrook.edu).

Accepted for Publication: January 21, 2021.

Published Online: April 5, 2021. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2021.0161

Author Contributions: Dr Verdery had full access to all of the data in the study and takes responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis.

Concept and design: Kidman, Margolis, Verdery.

Acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data: All authors.

Drafting of the manuscript: Kidman, Verdery.

Critical revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content: All authors.

Statistical analysis: Verdery.

Obtained funding: Verdery.

Administrative, technical, or material support: Kidman.

Supervision: Verdery.

Conflict of Interest Disclosures: Dr Verdery reported grants from the National Institute on Aging and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development during the conduct of the study. No other disclosures were reported.

References

Bergman A-S , Axberg U , Hanson E . When a parent dies: a systematic review of the effects of support programs for parentally bereaved children and their caregivers. BMC Palliat Care. 2017;16(1):39. doi:10.1186/s12904-017-0223-y PubMed Google Scholar Crossref

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. COVID-19 death data and resources. Accessed March 1, 2021. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/covid19/mortality-overview.htm

Verdery AM , Smith-Greenaway E , Margolis R , Daw J . Tracking the reach of COVID-19 kin loss with a bereavement multiplier applied to the United States. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2020;117(30):17695-17701. doi:10.1073/pnas.2007476117 PubMed Google Scholar Crossref

Fontanet A , Cauchemez S . COVID-19 herd immunity: where are we? Nat Rev Immunol. 2020;20(10):583-584. doi:10.1038/s41577-020-00451-5 PubMed Google Scholar Crossref

Chemtob CM , Conroy DL , Hochauser CJ , et al. Children who lost a parent as a result of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001: registry construction and population description. Death Stud. 2007;31(1):87-100. doi:10.1080/07481180600995263 PubMed Google Scholar Crossref

US Census Bureau. 2019 Monthly national population estimates by age, sex, race, hispanic origin, and population universe for the United States: April 1, 2010 to December 1, 2020 (NC-EST2019-ALLDATA). Accessed November 11, 2020. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2010-2019/national/asrh/nc-est2019-alldata-r-file22.csv

AMA CME Accreditation Information

Credit Designation Statement: The American Medical Association designates this Journal-based CME activity activity for a maximum of 1.00  AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the participant to earn up to:

1.00 Medical Knowledge MOC points in the American Board of Internal Medicine's (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program;;
1.00 Self-Assessment points in the American Board of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery’s (ABOHNS) Continuing Certification program;
1.00 MOC points in the American Board of Pediatrics’ (ABP) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program;
1.00 Lifelong Learning points in the American Board of Pathology’s (ABPath) Continuing Certification program; and
1.00 CME points in the American Board of Surgery’s (ABS) Continuing Certification program

It is the CME activity provider's responsibility to submit participant completion information to ACCME for the purpose of granting MOC credit.