Articles: caregivers.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Dec 2024
Economic Value of Unpaid Family Caregiver Time Following Hospital Discharge and at End of Life.
Family caregivers (FCGs) play a crucial role in care for people with serious illness, yet unpaid care is often overlooked in estimates of care recipient (CR) care costs. ⋯ Of 282 FCGs, 94% were non-Hispanic White, 71% were female, 71% had a college degree, and 51% were in the workforce. FCGs of decedents (58%) compared to survivors reported significantly more caregiving hours per person-month (392 vs. 272), resulting in higher estimated economic value per person-month using opportunity ($12,653 vs. $8843), proxy ($5689 vs. $3955), and combined costing methods ($9490 vs. $6443) CONCLUSION: This study informs more complete economic evaluations of palliative care by estimating the economic value of unpaid caregiving. The high intensity of unpaid caregiving for people with serious illness, especially toward the end of life, should be considered when designing policies and interventions to support FCGs. Better methods for approximating economic value are needed to address potential inequities in current valuation approaches.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Dec 2024
Death anxiety in patients with advanced cancer and their family caregivers.
Death anxiety is associated with fears of suffering and uncertainty at the end of life. It is also relevant to patients' family caregivers, who can experience fears about the patients' death and dying. ⋯ The results indicate that death anxiety is a common, clinically significant problem in patients with advanced cancer and their family caregivers, emphasizing the need for targeted psychological support.
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Review
Lived experiences of end-of-life care at home in the UK: a scoping review of qualitative research.
Home is the preferred place of care and death for most people with advanced illness. ⋯ There is limited published evidence exploring the lived experiences of end-of-life care at home and this constrains the extent to which community services can be evidence informed in their design and delivery. More research is needed to examine the first-hand experiences of people who are dying at home, particularly for those with non-cancer conditions and where specialist services are not involved.
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Multicenter Study
Caregivers' Perspective and Burden of The End-of-Life Phase of Patients With Glioblastoma: A Multicenter Retrospective Study.
Glioblastoma is the most common aggressive primary brain tumor in adults. Changes in cognition, personality, and behavior of patients as well as side effects of treatments cause unique challenges for providing care and may impact caregiver burden in different ways. ⋯ The end-of-life phases of patients with glioblastoma represent a critical factor that significantly affects not only the patient but also the caregiver's burden, caregiving tasks, and time. A multidisciplinary support program is needed to address and improve caregivers' burden.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Shared Medication PLanning In Home Hospice to Address Medication Regimen Complexity and Family Caregiver Burden: A Brief Report.
Objective: Medication management in home hospice is challenging for family caregivers (FCGs). We tested a patient-centered medication review and FCG support program delivered by hospice staff called "Shared Medication PLanning In (SiMPLIfy) Home Hospice." Methods: A pilot cluster-randomized trial at two U. S. home hospice agencies measured the primary outcome of reduction in Medication Regimen Complexity Index (MRCI) (range 0 [no medications]-no upper limit) and secondary outcome of Family Caregiver Medication Administration Hassle Scale (FCMAHS) (range 0 [no hassle-120 [greatest hassle]). ⋯ FCMAHS differed between spousal and nonspousal FCGs (p = 0.12). Conclusion: A clinician-FCG-patient communication program in home hospice is feasible and may reduce medication complexity. SiMPLIfy has the potential to reduce polypharmacy.