Research with families in palliative care: conceptual and methodological challenges

Conducting research with families of individuals receiving palliative care is challenging. Issues contributing to the challenge include defining the family, determining the unit of analysis in the level of inquiry, and identifying pathways to knowledge about the family. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the major conceptual and methodological issues facing family researchers in general, with an aim to examining how these issues impact researchers studying families of individuals receiving palliative care.