Abstract: Objective: To construct a grief counseling program for family members of patients with sudden death in the emergency department, and to alleviate their grief and reduce the risk of prolonged grief disorder. Methods: The grief counseling program was developed based on literature review and clinical experience. The program was further revised and its feasibility was demonstrated through the Delphi method. Results: The authority coefficient of the Delphi expert consultations was 0.904. After the second round of expert consultations, the coefficients of variation for the importance and feasibility of each item ranged from 0.05 to 0.24, respectively. The Kendall concordance coefficients were 0.174 and 0.215 (P<0.001). The final program comprised 4 primary items, 9 secondary items, and 28 tertiary items, including the establishment of a grief counseling team, assessment of grief counseling needs, implementation of grief counseling, and follow-up. Conclusion: The grief counseling program for family members of patients with sudden death in the emergency department is scientific, practical, and reliable, providing a reference for implementing grief counseling for family members of sudden death patients in clinical settings.

Key words: emergency department; sudden death; family member; grief counseling; Delphi method