Experiences of bereaved family caregivers with shared decision making in palliative cancer treatment: a qualitative interview study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Patients with incurable cancer face complex medical decisions. Their family caregivers play a prominent role in shared decision making processes, but we lack insights into their experiences. In this study, we explored how bereaved family caregivers experienced the shared decision making process.

Methods

We performed a qualitative interview study with in-depth interviews analysed with inductive content analysis. We used a purposive sample of bereaved family caregivers (n = 16) of patients with cancer treated in a tertiary university hospital in the Netherlands.

Results

Four themes were identified: 1. scenarios of decision making, 2. future death of the patient 3. factors influencing choices when making a treatment decision, and 4. preconditions for the decis

SUBMITTER: van Oosterhout SPC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8423331 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature