The handbook under the magnifying glass: Lessons (still) to be learnt from research on drug-related death bereavement

In this final chapter, on the basis of the preceding ones, the editors take a critical look at how the field of drug-related death (DRD) bereavement research has taken shape, where it still has to go, and what it has to offer in terms of knowledge, applications, practice, and policymaking. The themes emerging from the chapters are described and commented on. Specific lines of research for the future are outlined, suggesting topics that need further attention on the one hand or ones that have been neglected and urgently require investigation on the other hand. The conviction that the field needs multiple approaches and cross-fertilization of ideas emerges as a fundamental message; maintaining links between research and practice is another. Through the descriptions of the emerging themes, it is illustrated how a broad scope and variety of research strategies have paid off so far and how these approaches can be profitably continued. With this handbook, we hope to have achieved our goal of providing a comprehensive review of current research on DRD bereavement, filling a major gap in the scientific literature, and demonstrating the need for extension worldwide of DRD bereavement research.