End-of-life care preferences of older adults and family members who care for them.
Using data from a series of in-depth semi-structured telephone interviews with family caregivers (N = 110), this study explored preferences for end-of-life care and the types of plans made. Caregivers provided rich descriptions of care receivers' perceived preferences for care at six weeks (post-patient discharge due to hip fracture or stroke), as well as their own preferences at one year and at five years. Three general themes characterizing care receivers' preferences for care emerged from the narrative responses: preferred setting for care, expectations for family care, and life-sustaining treatment preferences. A fourth theme, impact of the caregiving experience, also emerged from the caregivers' responses in terms of their own preferences for care. The findings are discussed in terms of the recently proposed national agenda for social work research in palliative and end-of-life care.
Luptak
Marilyn
M
College of Social Work, University of Utah, 395 South 1500 East, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA. Marilyn.Luptak@socwk.utah.edu
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D003258:Consumer Behavior; D003657:Decision Making; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D012947:Social Work; D013727:Terminal Care / Q000523:psychology*