Hospice family caregivers' quality of life.
OBJECTIVE
To study quality of life (QOL) and its important correlates among family caregivers of terminally ill patients receiving in-home hospice care.


BACKGROUND
Caregiver QOL has been identified as a core outcome variable in studies of dying patients and their families, but few studies have assessed QOL among caregivers of patients with terminal illness, particularly those in hospice care.


METHODS
For this cross-sectional correlational study, 60 caregivers were recruited from two local in-home hospice programmes in the Midwestern United States.


METHODS
Self-report data were provided by caregivers using the Caregiver Quality of Life Index - Cancer, Spiritual Well-Being Scale, American Pain Society Patient Outcomes Questionnaire, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status Rating and Medical Outcome Study Social Support Survey to measure their QOL, spirituality, health status and social support.


RESULTS
Caregivers' educational status, physical health status, spirituality and qualitative and quantitative social support, as a set, explained 42% of the variance in their QOL. Caregivers with higher education, better physical health status, greater spirituality and more qualitative and quantitative social support, had a significantly better QOL.


CONCLUSIONS
QOL for this sample of hospice caregivers was significantly predicted only by physical health status and spirituality, likely because of collinearity among the independent variables. Additional research is needed to explore the factors that sustain or promote caregivers' QOL over time.


CONCLUSIONS
In the delivery of hospice services, the family caregiver is both a vital member of the health care team and a recipient of care. Health care providers should therefore pay more attention to the health status and spirituality of major caregivers, thus helping them maintain and improve their QOL.
Tang
Woung-Ru
WR
Graduate Institute of Nursing, Chang Gung University, Taiwan Graduate Institute of Nursing, Chang Gung University, Taiwan, ROC. wtang@mail.cgu.edu.tw
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D017028:Caregivers; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D017051:Hospice Care; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015146:Midwestern United States; D011788:Quality of Life; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D019452:Terminally Ill