Caregiver resilience in palliative care: a research protocol

Area of Science:

• Palliative Care
• Psychology
• Nursing

Background:

• Informal caregivers face adversity during end-of-life care, involving emotional and introspective challenges.
• Resilience, the ability to adapt to adversity, is under-researched in the context of palliative caregiving.
• This study addresses the gap in understanding caregiver resilience in end-of-life settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a conceptual framework for informal caregiver resilience in palliative care.
• To identify psychological, behavioral, and healthcare factors impacting caregiver resilience.
• To explore the predictive, mediating, and moderating roles of self-efficacy, caregiving burden, and depression on resilience.

Main Methods:

• A multicenter, cross-sectional study design.
• Questionnaire administration to informal end-of-life caregivers.
• Statistical analysis including regression and structural equation modeling using SPSS and MPlus.

Main Results:

• The study protocol is designed to yield insights into caregiver resilience.
• Anticipated results will identify key factors influencing resilience in this population.
• The framework will elucidate the interplay between self-efficacy, burden, depression, and resilience.

Conclusions:

• The findings will advance the theoretical understanding of resilience in palliative care.
• Practical implications include the development of targeted interventions to support informal caregivers.
• Healthcare teams can utilize results to enhance caregiver support strategies.