Understanding of Health-related Decision-making Terminology Among Cancer Caregivers.
Karen O Moss, Sara L Douglas, Amy R Lipson and 4 others
PMID 33063642WHAT IT FOUND
Family caregivers of adults with advanced cancer often did not understand terms such as palliative care, advance directive or Living Will.
They saw treatment choices as routine support and relied heavily on doctors, oncology nurses, family and the internet.
Key findings
01Caregivers often did not know what palliative care meant, although hospice was familiar.
02Caregivers had difficulty explaining the difference between advance directives and Living Wills.
03Caregivers often treated healthcare choices as routine support and relied heavily on oncologists, oncology nurses, family members, and the internet.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study included only 10 family caregivers, so the findings are not representative of all caregivers of adults with advanced cancer. Most caregivers were White, married, female, and caring for a spouse; the sample did not fully represent the racial diversity of the cancer center's patient population. Only caregivers were interviewed, not the patients living with advanced cancer, so patient views were missing. Caregivers were recruited from a parent study database, which may have selected for participants already willing and motivated to engage in research. The study did not give caregivers definitions of terms such as end of life, which was intentional but means baseline understanding varied.
Declared interests
The article reports NIH extramural research support and a parent study grant (R01NR014856); the supplied text does not include an author conflict-of-interest statement.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these themes as proof that caregiver education improves decision-making or cancer outcomes. The study describes 10 caregivers' understandings and did not test an intervention.