Family beliefs regarding the nutritional care of a terminally ill relative: a qualitative study
Title
Family beliefs regarding the nutritional care of a terminally ill relative: a qualitative study
Creator
McClement SE; Degner LF; Harlos MS
Identifier
Publisher
Journal Of Palliative Medicine
Date
2003
Subject
Female; Humans; Male; Palliative Care; Adult; Canada; Middle Aged; Nutritional Support; Practice; adolescent; Non-U.S. Gov't; Research Support; Interviews; Terminally Ill/psychology; Attitudes; Family/psychology; Health Knowledge; Neoplasms/psychology/therapy; History; 18th Century
Description
OBJECTIVE: To develop a conceptual model of family caregiver beliefs and behavior related to nutritional care of the terminally ill by examining the perspectives of family members, patients, and health care providers. DESIGN: Qualitative study using in-depth, open-ended, face to face interviews, participant observation, and content analysis. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 47 participants from 4 groups: hospitalized palliative patients with cancer (n = 13), family members of hospitalized palliative patients with cancer (n = 13), health care providers on a palliative care unit (n = 11), and bereaved family members who had previously experienced the death of a relative on a palliative care unit. OUTCOME MEASURES: Participant views on nutritional care in the terminal phases of illness. RESULTS: There is marked variability in the ways family members respond to a dying cachectic anorexic relative. The overarching theme of "doing what's best" captures this variability and integrates the major categories into the key analytic model emerging from this study. CONCLUSION: We have developed a conceptual model of family beliefs regarding the nutritional care of a hospitalized terminally ill relative. The model has implications for education, practice, and research regarding nutritional care in the palliative care setting.
2003
Rights
Article information provided for research and reference use only. PedPalASCNET does not hold any rights over the resource listed here. All rights are retained by the journal listed under publisher and/or the creator(s).
Type
Journal Article
Citation List Month
Backlog
URL Address
Citation
McClement SE; Degner LF; Harlos MS, “Family beliefs regarding the nutritional care of a terminally ill relative: a qualitative study,” Pediatric Palliative Care Library, accessed February 17, 2025, https://pedpalascnetlibrary.omeka.net/items/show/12870.