Characteristics and Social Support Needs Predicting Anticipatory Grief in the Spouses of Patients with Cancer at the End of Life

Background: Medical staff provide care to spouses of terminal cancer patients through trial and error by meeting their various support needs and spousal factors regarding their anticipatory grief. Studies on the association between spousal characteristics and anticipatory grief have been inconclusive;additionally, there has been insufficient research on support needs for anticipatory grief of spouses. This study aimed to explore the spousal characteristics and social support needs predicting anticipatory grief in spouses of patients with cancer at the end of life. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study. Eligible spouses (n = 102) completed a self-report questionnaire in two hospitals with palliative care units in Japan. The questionnaire included demographic information, a tool assessing social support needs of spouses, and the Anticipatory Grief Scale for Family Caregivers. Results: Simple regression analyses indicated that patient age, chemotherapy, no treatment, ECOG PS3, children aged under 20 years, total score of “social support needs regarding the disease and treatment of the patients” and subscale scores (“medical condition and cure,” “daily life and social support,” and “intimacy and employment”), and total score of “social support needs of the spouses” and subscale scores (“family psychological issues and social support” and “intimacy, employment, and society”) were significant variables (all p p Conclusions: Patients having no experience of “chemotherapy” and higher “social support needs of the spouses” in Model 1, and greater spousal needs of “family psychological issues and social support” in Model 2 were significant predictors of severe anticipatory grief. Medical staff should pay attention to these risk factors that predict anticipatory grief among spouses.

Unmet supportive care needs in families of children with chronic health conditions: an Australian cross‑sectional study

Background The aim of this study was to identify similarities and diferences in the unmet supportive care needs(USCN)of families of children with major chronic health conditions(CHCs)using a universal need assessment tool.Methods A cross-sectional online survey involving parents of children with congenital heart disease(CHD),type 1 diabetes mellitus(T1D),cancer,and asthma diagnosed within the last 5 years recruited via social media and support organizations.Thirty-four items assessing the USCN across six domains(care needs,physical and social needs,informational needs,support needs,fnancial needs,child-related emotional needs)were responded to on a 4-point Likert scale[no need(1)to high need(4)].Descriptive statistics identifed the level of need,and linear regressions identifed factors associated with higher need domain scores.Due to small numbers,the asthma group was excluded from comparisons across CHCs.Results One hundred and ninety-four parents completed the survey(CHD:n=97,T1D:n=50,cancer:n=39,and asthma:n=8).Parents of children with cancer were most likely to report at least one USCN(92%),followed by parents of children with T1D(62%).The fve most commonly reported USCN across CHCs were drawn from four domains:child-related emotional,support,care,and fnancial.Three need items were included in the top fve needs for all conditions.A higher USCN was associated with a greater frequency of hospital visits and the absence of parental support.Conclusions Using a universal need assessment tool,this is one of the frst studies to characterize USCN in families of children diagnosed with common CHCs.While proportions endorsing diferent needs varied across conditions,the most endorsed needs were similar across the illness groups.This suggests that support programs or services could be shared across diferent CHCs.