Exploring Experiences of Bereaved Caregivers of Older Adult Patients With Acute Myeloid Leukemia.
Elissa Poor, Ya-Ning Chan, Katie Iadonisi and 2 others
PMID 35302558WHAT IT FOUND
Bereaved caregivers of older adults with acute myeloid leukemia described unmet information needs, shock at sudden decline, and value from personalized condolences and support from people who had faced similar losses.
Key findings
01Bereaved caregivers described unmet supportive care needs and sources of support they described as helpful.
02Their information needs differed from the patient's, and provider information was described as either too basic or too complex.
03They felt unprepared for dramatic changes near end of life, and personalized condolences from the healthcare team were meaningful.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Only two bereaved caregivers were interviewed, so their experiences cannot represent all caregivers of older adults with acute myeloid leukemia. Both caregivers were female, white or non-Hispanic, in their 60s, and college-educated. The interviews happened three to six months after death, and the authors note recollection may not match real-time reporting. The interviewer was not part of either caregiver's care team, so the paper does not show what continuity with their own care team would mean. The study enrolled 20 patients and 14 caregivers, but only three patients died and two caregivers were interviewed, so the analysed sample is very small. The article reports experiences and themes, not outcomes, so it does not show that any nurse-led bereavement intervention works.
Declared interests
No conflicts-of-interest statement is supplied in the text. Publication types list research support from N.I.H. extramural and non-U.S. government sources.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these interviews as proof that nurse-led bereavement support reduces grief. The findings come from two bereaved caregivers, and the interviewer was not part of their care team.