title: Relational experiences of family caregivers providing home-based end-of-life care.
abstract: The multiple relationships involved in home-based end-of-life care have received little systematic analysis. As part of a focused ethnographic study examining client-caregiver-provider relational care experiences within the sociocultural context of home-based end-of-life care, this article describes the provision of end-of-life care to older adults with advanced cancer from the perspective of family caregivers. Data were collected through in-depth interviews (n = 16) with 4 family caregivers and participant observations in each of the 4 households over a 6- to 8-month period. Family caregiving in home-based end-of-life care was portrayed in this study as 3 dialectical relational care experiences: (1) prioritizing care recipient needs-ignoring own needs, (2) feeling connected-feeling isolated, and (3) juggling to manage-struggling to survive. Study findings suggest that the sociocultural context of end-of-life care is not conducive to quality care and provide several insights for future directions in nursing practice, policy, and research.
authors.affiliation: Western University, London, Ontario, Canada. cwg@uwo.ca
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ward-Griffin
authors.forename: Carol L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: McWilliam
authors.forename: Abram
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Oudshoorn
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000884:Anthropology, Cultural; D017028:Caregivers; D022143:Family Nursing; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000628:therapy; D013727:Terminal Care