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A conceptual model and key variables for guiding supportive interventions for family caregivers of people receiving palliative care

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 December 2003

PETER HUDSON
PETER HUDSON
Affiliation:
School of Nursing and Centre for Palliative Care, University of Melbourne, Carlton, Victoria 3053, Australia
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Abstract

According to the World Health Organization, the patient and family should be viewed as the “unit of care” when palliative care is required. Therefore family caregivers should receive optimal supportive care from health professionals. However, the impact of supporting a dying relative is frequently described as having negative physical and psychosocial sequalae. Furthermore, family caregivers consistently report unmet needs and there has been a dearth of rigorous supportive interventions published. In addition, comprehensive conceptual frameworks to navigate the family caregiver experience and guide intervention development are lacking. This article draws on Lazarus and Folkman's seminal work on the transactional stress and coping framework to present a conceptual model specific to family caregivers of patients receiving palliative care. A comprehensive account of key variables to aid understanding of the family caregiver experience and intervention design is provided.

Keywords

Palliative careCaregiversPsychosocial supportStressTheoretical model
Type
REVIEW ARTICLES
Information
Palliative & Supportive Care , Volume 1 , Issue 4 , December 2003 , pp. 353 - 365
Copyright
© 2003 Cambridge University Press

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