Hudson P, Quinn K, Kristjanson L, Thomas T, Braithwaite M, Fisher J, Cockayne M
Centre for Palliative Care Education and Research, St Vincent's and The University of Melbourne, Fitzroy, Victoria, Australia.
Palliat Med. 2008 Apr;22(3):270-80. doi: 10.1177/0269216307088187.
Family caregivers are often responsible for providing significant support to relatives who require palliative care at home. However, evidence suggests that family caregivers have limited information, resources or support to prepare them for such a role. Furthermore, family caregiving can be associated with negative physical, financial and psychosocial outcomes.
This project sought to examine the utility of a group family caregiver psycho-educational programme focused on preparing primary family caregivers for the role of supporting a relative with advanced cancer at home.
The education programme consisted of three consecutive weekly sessions presented in a group format, conducted at six home-based palliative care services across metropolitan and regional Victoria (Australia). Participating caregivers were required to complete a set of self-report questionnaires measuring caregiver competence, preparedness, optimism, rewards, social support, burden and information needs, at three time points: commencement of the programme (T1), upon completion (T2) and 2 weeks later (T3). Caregivers were also asked to report on the relevance, acceptability and content of the programme, as well as any barriers to access.
Sixteen education programmes were conducted, with 74 caregivers attending the first session. Forty-four caregivers completed all three data collection sets. Following the intervention, a significant positive effect was found for the following outcomes: preparedness for the caring role, caregiving competence, caregiving rewards and having information needs met from T1 to T2. These improvements were maintained at follow-up (T3). Feedback on the individual sessions and entire programme was favourable and the overwhelming majority of participants reported that the programme had a positive impact on their lives.
This study demonstrated that a group education programme to prepare family caregivers for the role of supporting a dying relative at home was accessible, applicable and effective.
家庭照顾者通常负责为在家中需要姑息治疗的亲属提供重要支持。然而，有证据表明，家庭照顾者在为此类角色做准备时所获得的信息、资源或支持有限。此外，家庭照顾可能会带来负面的身体、经济和心理社会后果。
本项目旨在检验一项针对家庭照顾者的团体心理教育项目的效用，该项目旨在让主要家庭照顾者为在家中照顾晚期癌症亲属的角色做好准备。
该教育项目由连续三周以小组形式开展的课程组成，在澳大利亚维多利亚州大都市和地区的六个居家姑息治疗服务机构进行。参与的照顾者需要在三个时间点完成一套自我报告问卷，以测量照顾者的能力、准备情况、乐观程度、回报、社会支持、负担和信息需求，这三个时间点分别为：项目开始时（T1）、完成时（T2）和两周后（T3）。照顾者还被要求报告该项目的相关性、可接受性和内容，以及任何获取障碍。
共开展了16个教育项目，74名照顾者参加了第一节课。44名照顾者完成了所有三个数据收集组。干预后，在以下结果方面发现了显著的积极影响：从T1到T2，对照顾角色的准备情况、照顾能力、照顾回报以及信息需求得到满足。这些改善在随访时（T3）得以维持。对各个课程和整个项目的反馈是积极的，绝大多数参与者报告该项目对他们的生活产生了积极影响。
本研究表明，一项旨在让家庭照顾者为在家中照顾临终亲属的角色做好准备的团体教育项目是可及的、适用的且有效的。
