Caregiver Support from the Perspective of Specialiszed Nurses Working in Palliative Home Care - a Qualitative Study

Background Supporting family carers is a key task in palliative home care. As part of the interprofessional team nurses play a crucial role in this respect. Aim of the study was to describe the perspective of specialized nurses on caregiver support in palliative home care. Methods In an exploratory qualitative study focus groups and individual interviews with specialized palliative care nurses from Austria were conducted and analyzed using qualitative content analysis according to Mayring. Results 2 focus groups with 11 participants and 3 individual interviews were conducted. Caregiver support is an essential and complex field of action, in which the interviewed nurses invested a large part of their working time. Five distinct categories of nursing interventions were identified: "Building a sustainable relationship", "Coordination and cooperation", "Providing a sense of security and empowerment", "Preventing crisis" and "Supporting grief and closing relationship". Challenges arose by family conflicts, the late involvement of palliative care services as well as early discharge from inpatient care. Nurses acquired the necessary competencies for caregiver support hardly in education and training. Conclusion Caregiver support is a key issue in palliative home care nursing and should receive significantly more attention in practice, education and research to further improve quality.