Palliative & Supportive Service, School of Medicine, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
J Palliat Med. 2010 Oct;13(10):1225-35. doi: 10.1089/jpm.2010.0004.
Little is known about young caregivers of people with advanced life-limiting illness. Better understanding of the needs and characteristics of these young caregivers can inform development of palliative care and other support services.
A population-based analysis of caregivers was performed from piloted questions included in the 2001-2007 face-to-face annual health surveys of 23,706 South Australians on the death of a loved one, caregiving provided, and characteristics of the deceased individual and caregiver. The survey was representative of the population by age, gender, and region of residence.
Most active care was provided by older, close family members, but large numbers of young people (ages 15-29) also provided assistance to individuals with advanced life-limiting illness. They comprised 14.4% of those undertaking "hands-on" care on a daily or intermittent basis, whom we grouped together as active caregivers. Almost as many young males as females participate in active caregiving (men represent 46%); most provide care while being employed, including 38% who work full-time. Over half of those engaged in hands-on care indicated the experience to be worse or much worse than expected, with young people more frequently reporting dissatisfaction thereof. Young caregivers also exhibited an increased perception of the need for assistance with grief.
Young people can be integral to end-of-life care, and represent a significant cohort of active caregivers with unique needs and experiences. They may have a more negative experience as caregivers, and increased needs for grief counseling services compared to other age cohorts of caregivers.
对于患有晚期绝症的人的年轻照顾者，我们知之甚少。更好地了解这些年轻照顾者的需求和特点，可以为姑息治疗和其他支持服务的发展提供信息。
从 2001-2007 年对 23706 名南澳大利亚人面对面年度健康调查中包含的试点问题中，对照顾者进行了基于人群的分析，这些人在亲人去世、提供的照顾以及死者和照顾者的特征方面进行了调查。该调查在年龄、性别和居住地区方面具有代表性。
大多数积极的护理是由年长的、近亲提供的，但大量的年轻人（15-29 岁）也为患有晚期绝症的人提供帮助。他们占每天或间歇性进行“动手”护理的人数的 14.4%，我们将他们归为积极照顾者。参与积极照顾的年轻男性与女性一样多（男性占 46%）；大多数人在工作时提供护理，包括 38%的全职工作者。超过一半从事实际护理的人表示体验比预期的更差或差很多，年轻人对此的不满更为频繁。年轻的照顾者也对悲伤援助的需求有更高的认识。
年轻人可以成为临终关怀的重要组成部分，他们是具有独特需求和体验的积极照顾者中的重要群体。与其他年龄组的照顾者相比，他们作为照顾者的体验可能更差，对悲伤咨询服务的需求也更大。
