A Study of Informal Respite Care for Family Caregivers of Terminal Cancer Patients at Home

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 24530714
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Social welfare and social work studies
• Research Institution: Yamaguchi Prefectural University
• Principal Investigator: GOTO MIYUKI 山口県立大学, 看護栄養学部, 准教授 (30547972)
• Project Period (FY): 2012-04-01 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: 終末期がん患者 / 家族介護者 / インフォーマル・サポート / フォーマル・サービス / ボランティア / レスパイト・ケア

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Family caregivers of terminal cancer patients at home attend the patients’ deathbed, and therefore there was a tendency for them to seek support to alleviate their psychological burden more than physical burden. Respite care is necessary to alleviate psychological burden and volunteer support has a possibility of alleviating the pain caused by losing the patient. Therefore, efficacy of informal (volunteer) support became evident in relation to the alleviation of psychological burden of the family caregivers.
We created and reviewed an assessment tool for respite care which can approach the family caregivers’ psychological burden from both formal service and informal support dimensions. The results suggested a necessity of a collaboration between the two.

Free Research Field

健康福祉