Närståendes erfarenheter och behov av stöd inom palliativ vård i hemmet : En litteraturstudie

Sammanfattning: Background: It is becoming increasingly common in health care that relatives have a significant role in palliative care at home. Some patients receiving care in a palliative phase choose to pass away at home, which implies that relatives need to take on a great responsibility for the patient's care. Aim: To describe the experiences and needs of relatives that provide support from the nurse in palliative care at home. Additionally the aim was to examine the method of data collection of all articles included in the thesis. Methodology: The applied methodology is a literature study of descriptive character based on fourteen scientific articles, searched and found on the Cinahl and PubMed databases, as well as through manual research. Result: Relatives provide care around the clock, resulting in limitations in their own daily activities and ignoring their own needs. The nurse’s support was portrayed both as deficient and satisfactory. Support to the relative in terms of relief facilitated the role for the relative as nurturers and reduced feelings of tiredness, demand, loneliness, and isolation. Decent availability and a good relationship with the nurse could reduce feelings of insecurity and fear with the relative. For the nurse to give the right information and communication to the relative could facilitate for the relative, and reduce feelings of confusion and frustration as well as the burden of the care. To get good bereavement support in the form of phone calls, letters and home visits could strengthen the entire family. Conclusions: Relatives need for various forms of support from nurses during and after the palliative care. Emotional support, bereavement support, accessibility, good relationship with nurses, information, and communication are essential for maintaining well-being of the caregiving relative.