CAREN logo

You are here

  1. Home
  2. Caregiver Bereavement Outcome: Relationship With Hospice at Home, Satisfaction With Care, and Home Death

Caregiver Bereavement Outcome: Relationship With Hospice at Home, Satisfaction With Care, and Home Death

This study used a randomized controlled trial design to investigate the impact of hospice at home (HAH) on caregiver bereavement outcome. Secondary analyses considered the association between bereavement, place of death, and carers' assessment of support. Ninety-six informal carers of patients referred to HAH were surveyed six weeks post-bereavement about the quality of terminal care. Carers next completed measures of their own bereavement response and general health six months post-bereavement. There was no evidence that HAH had an impact on bereavement outcome. In contrast, perceptions of inadequate terminal support and high symptom severity were associated with worse carer bereavement response. However, it remains unclear whether carers' retrospective ratings constitute an accurate account of symptoms and care. Home deaths were associated with both better bereavement response and better physical health post-bereavement than were inpatient deaths. Further research is needed to investigate the implications of death at home for the carer.

Additional Titles
JOURNAL OF PALLIATIVE CARE
Original source (some source materials require subscription or permission to access)

Key Information

Type of Reference
Jour
Type of Work
Randomized controlled trial, clinical trial
ISBN/ISSN
08258597
Resource Database
Amed amed - exported on 11/7/2016
Publication Year
2004
Issue Number
2
Volume Number
20
Start Page
69