An overview of the role of family support in palliative care: a quasi-systematic review
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Abstract
Background: Serious suffering due to severe illness presents a challenge in maintaining the highest quality of life for the patient until the end of life. It also involves caring for the family and loved ones who accompany the seriously ill individual. Hence, there is a need to provide support not only to the patient but also to the family members and caregivers, who require assistance both in direct care and in psychosocial problems. Family support is mentioned in international guidelines and definitions related to palliative care however, the recommendations do not define a specific course of action. This review aims to identify methods of family support in palliative care. Methods: Quasi-systematic review; search strategy: PubMed and Scopus were searched utilizing selected MeSH terms. Results: A total of 18 sources were included in the review. The literature identifies supportive interventions for families and caregivers of seriously ill patients. There is a proof that professional psychological approach e.g. cognitive therapy may be more successful than the other types of support provided by medical professionals who are not psychologists. Another observation is that support groups seem to be a valuable contribution to the mental health of caregivers. On the other hand, families observed an unsatisfying level of communication between them and healthcare professionals, as well as the limited time for these interactions. Conclusions: The literature identifies that there are different educational, psychosocial, and organizational approaches to family support. The impact of each supportive method on caregivers’ well-being was diverse, interventions were not equally effective. Nevertheless, all approaches reduced depressive symptoms and mitigated negative health effects on families, thereby there is an important value in developing this area of palliative care.
Keywords: family supportpalliative carepatients
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