Identifying and assessing the needs of carers of patients with palliative care needs: an exploratory study

摘要

Background: Carers of patients with palliative care needs require careful assessment and support to undertake their role effectively. The carer component of palliative care is embedded in complex situations that necessarily focus on the patient. Aims: To explore experiences of specialist palliative care nurses in identifying, assessing and planning care to support those looking after patients with palliative care needs. Results: Findings identified gaps in identifying carers and their role, and in assessing carers' needs. Conclusions: This study confirmed the complexity in assessing carers' needs within the palliative care context, that practice gaps exist and positive outcomes result when routine processes were adopted. Future research should explore how to systematically make improvements in supporting carers in all palliative care contexts, including specialist and non-specialist settings. Carers of patients with palliative care needs require careful assessment and support to 'ensure they can effectively and confidently undertake their caring role (Alvariza et al, 2018). A carer is someone 'who provides personal care, support and assistance to another individual who needs it' (Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (ACSQHC),2015:32). This study worked with specialist palliative care nurses (registered nurses who specialise and work in palliative care). Therefore, the carers they interacted with, about whom they described their perceptions and experiences, had all been referred to a specialist palliative care service. The carer component of palliative care may seem obvious, but it is embedded in complex situations that necessarily focus on the patient. Therefore, although assessment and planning for carer support requires its own specific focus, it is often added on to assessments and planning that are performed for the patient.