Article Text
Abstract
Objectives Most research on starting palliative care focuses on the role of healthcare services and professional carers. However, patients and their family carers may also play a role. Especially opportunities for starting palliative care might exist among family carers. This study focused on family carers by identifying their behaviours and underlying determinants that might contribute to starting palliative care.
Methods A qualitative study with 16 family carers of deceased persons who used palliative care was conducted using semistructured, face-to-face interviews. Constant comparison analysis was used to identify groups of behaviours that influenced starting palliative care and related determinants. The behavioural determinants were matched with concepts in existing behavioural theories. A preliminary behavioural model was developed.
Results Most reported behaviours regarding starting palliative care were related to communicating with the seriously ill person, other family members and professional carers; seeking information and helping the seriously ill person process information from professional carers; and organising and coordinating care. Determinants facilitating and hindering these behaviours included awareness (eg, of poor health), knowledge (eg, concerning palliative care), attitudes (eg, negative connotations of palliative care) and social influences (eg, important others’ opinions about palliative care).
Conclusions This study identified relevant family carers’ behaviours and related determinants that can contribute to starting palliative care. As these determinants are changeable, the palliative care behavioural model that resulted from this study can serve as a basis for the development of behavioural interventions aiming at supporting family carers in performing behaviours that might contribute to starting palliative care.
- communication
- terminal care
- family management
- hospice care
Data availability statement
All data relevant to the study are included in the article or uploaded as supplementary information.
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Data availability statement
All data relevant to the study are included in the article or uploaded as supplementary information.
Footnotes
Twitter @ALScherrens
BD and JC contributed equally.
Contributors All authors, A-LS, KB, LM, LD, JC and BD, were responsible for the literature search, planning and design of the study. LM was responsible for data collection. LM and A-LS were responsible for data analysis. All authors contributed to the interpretation of the data. A-LS and KB wrote the first draft of the manuscript and critically revised the manuscript after receiving comments from all authors. KB, LD, BD and JC supervised the study. KB, BD and JC contributed to acquisition of funding. A-LS was responsible for final submission and as guarantor of content.
Funding This work was supported by grants from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (HOA24) and Ghent University (BOF). A-LS is a Predoctoral Fellow and KB is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO).
Competing interests None declared.
Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.
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