title: The perspectives of bereaved family members on their experiences of support in palliative care.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To explore family members' supportive interactions in palliative care and the emotional experiences that they associate with these interactions.
  
  
  METHODS
  Qualitative individual interviews were performed with bereaved family members recruited from an urban palliative care service in Sweden. The interviews were analysed using inductive qualitative content analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Five categories of supportive interactions with staff members were linked with emotional consequences: informational support, supportive encounters, professional focus of staff, a supportive environment, and bereavement support. Having a dialogue with family members nurtured certainty and security, supportive encounters gave a warm and comforting feeling, and bereavement support contributed to feelings of strength. Environmental factors contributed to dignity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Supportive interactions with staff and within a home-like environment help to build resilience if tailored to the family member's own needs.
authors.affiliation: Palliative Research Centre, PO Box 11189, SE-100 61 Stockholm, Sweden. tina.lundberg@esh.se
authors.forename: Tina
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lundberg
authors.forename: Mariann
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Olsson
authors.forename: Carl Johan
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Fürst
mesh_terms: D001601:Bereavement; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D010166:Palliative Care; D012944:Social Support; D013548:Sweden