Developing family care plans: a systems perspective for helping hospice families

Although terminal care literature may address the importance of the family in the patient's treatment, the family as a whole is seldom considered as the unit of care. A family system's perspective can offer a more holistic approach to providing care to the terminally ill. In this paper, Rosen's model of family system response to stress is adapted to provide a framework for understanding and helping hospice families. To ascertain information critical to the development of a comprehensive care plan, a general format is outlined. Case examples illustrate the application of this approach.