[Letting family participate in care. A study on relatives' experience with a palliative geriatric care department]

An evaluation was made of relatives' experiences of the care of the patient and the treatment of themselves at a geriatric ward where elderly patients dying of cancer were nursed. A questionnaire was sent to 100 relatives after they had agreed on telephone to participate. 86 relatives answered the questions. The results shows that the majority of the relatives were satisfied with the care of the patient and the treatment of themselves as relatives. Most of them thought that they had been able to influence the care of their next-to-kin. However, elderly ladies and younger men were uncertain whether they had had the possibility to influence the care. Most of the relatives had been given the opportunity to talk enough to the doctor, the nurses and the social-worker. However; they required a more active approach from the staff in the ward. They also desired more information about the patient's disease, prognosis and medical treatment. The findings of this study suggest that relatives need information repeated at several occasions in order to understand the message. They also need support and invitation to get the courage to ask questions and to participate in the care of their dying next-of-kin. We need deepen our knowledge of what kind of information the relatives demands and what information needs to be repeated. Evaluations of routines to make contact easier between patients, their relatives and hospital staff should be done continuously.