This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Yi, P. Articles by Suárez, J. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Yi, P. Articles by Suárez, J. Pubmed/NCBI databases Medline Plus Health Information Caregivers Palliative Care Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Grief support provided to caregivers of palliative care patients in Spain

Pilar Barreto

Department of Personality, Evaluation and Psychological Treatments, University of Valencia, Valencia

Carmen Soler

Dr Moliner Hospital, Serra, Valencia

Miguel Fombuena

Victoria Espinar

Palliative Medicine Unit, Dr Moliner Hospital, Serra, Valencia

Lorenzo Pascual

Centro de Salud de Manises

Ramón Navarro

Palliative Medicine Unit, Dr Moliner Hospital, Serra, Valencia

Remedio González

Department of Personality, Evaluation and Psychological Treatments, University of Valencia, Valencia

Jordi Bernabeu

Jesús Suárez

Department of Investigation and Diagnostics Methods in Education, University of Valencia, Valencia

Grief support for relatives of patients in palliative care is recognized as a fundamental practice within palliative medicine. The aim of this research was to determine the nature and extent of grief support programs offered to relatives of patients in palliative care in Spain. A postal survey was carried out among members of the Spanish Society of Palliative Care. The members' names were obtained through the Society's 2000 Directory, which lists 160 different teams, of which 50% answered a questionnaire made up of 34 questions, some open-ended and others multiple choice. Results show that 88.6% of the services include grief support, that mainly emotional and one-to-one care is provided (92.4 and 89.9%, respectively), and that the number of psychologists and social workers in each team is limited. The risk factors most commonly taken into account by professionals are: absence of family support (36.92%) and the bereaved's case history (21.54%); while the most widely used diagnostic criteria for complicated bereavement are blame and depression (12.5 and 11.36%). In conclusion, it can be seen that bereavement services are not completely consolidated in Spain and there is a need for a greater variety of intervention strategies.

Key Words: bereavement • caregivers • grief • palliative care • psychosocial support systems • risk assessment

Palliative Medicine, Vol. 20, No. 5, 521-531 (2006)
DOI: 10.1191/0269216306pm1165oa


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?