Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 25, 2025

Objective Nociceptive Assessment in Ventilated ICU Patients: A Feasibility Study Using Pupillometry and the Nociceptive Flexion Reflex
Published on: July 4, 2018
Family members' experiences of psychosocial support in palliative care inpatient units: A descriptive qualitative
Soikkeli-Jalonen Anu1, Mishina Kaisa2, Virtanen Heli3
1Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Social Sciences, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland.
Purpose:
The support for family members (FMs) during a patient's palliative hospital care has been rarely studied, creating a gap in how FMs can be better supported. Psychosocial support answers widely to FMs' needs. Therefore, this study aims to describe FMs' experiences of psychosocial support in specialist palliative care inpatient units from the perspective of the FMs themselves.
Methods:
A qualitative descriptive study with individual semi-structured interviews and inductive content analysis was conducted. Data were collected in four specialist palliative care inpatient units in two large hospital districts in Finland. The 32-item checklist Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Studies was used to ensure detailed reporting.
Results:
A total of 19 FMs of cancer patients receiving palliative care participated in the study. Their experiences of psychosocial support focused on Support FMs hoped for, Support practices in the care unit, and Informational support for FMs.
Conclusions:
According to FMs' experiences, support focusing particularly on the FMs, safe quality patient care, proper access to information regarding the patient's care and condition, and genuine encounters with HCPs were the aspects that seemed to be the most important to the FMs. Systematic provision of support and information should be a routine model in palliative care. Additionally, a care environment that promotes FMs' presence, participation, and family-centred care is essential in FMs' support and should be considered when developing family involvement in palliative care. Furthermore, the importance of FMs receiving sufficient information, and FMs' dependence on HCPs to share the needed information, should be acknowledged. Hence, more attention should be paid to successful information sharing between the HCPs and FMs in palliative hospital care.
Related Concept Videos
Continuing Care
Techniques of therapeutic communication I: Active Listening, Sharing Observations, Validation, and Using Touch
Therapeutic communication is not the same as social interaction. Social interaction has no goal or purpose and consists of casual information sharing, whereas therapeutic communication has a plan or purpose for the conversation. Therapeutic...
Bonanno's Theory of Grieving
Resilience
Nephrotic Syndrome III : Nursing Management
Ethical Issues
Ethical Concerns in Healthcare:
Nursing Ethical Principles II
Consider the following scenario, which illustrates how these principles are applied in the care of Mr. John, a fifty-year-old teacher diagnosed with metastatic liver cancer.
Initially, Mr. John's...

