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Table 3 Quality of support, needs, bereavement and health outcomes

From: End-of-life and bereavement support to families in cancer care: a cross-sectional survey with bereaved family members

 

All

(n = 35)

Health Institution

(n = 13)

Home care

(n = 22)

p-value*

Quality of support

n

 

n

 

n

  

Quality of family support (ICE-FPSQ)1sum (range)

31

50.0 (14.0–70.0)

9

35.0 (14.0–70.0)

22

55.0 (23.0–70.0)

0.094

ICE-FPSQ Cognitive support

31

20.0 (5.0–25.0)

9

12.0 (5.0–25.0)

22

20.5 (7.0–25.0)

0.094

ICE-FPSQ Emotional support

31

34.0 (9.0–45.0)

9

25.0 (9.0–45.0)

22

34.5 (16.0–45.0)

0.174

Quality of EoL care (CANHELP)2mdn (range)

26

4.2 (2.2-5.0)

9

4.1 (3.3-5.0)

17

4.3 (2.2-5.0)

0.958

Support providersn (%)

       

Nurses

35

34 (97.1)

13

13 (100.0)

22

21 (95.5)

 

Physicians

34

18 (52.9)

12

7 (53.3)

22

11 (50.0)

 

Medical assistants

35

28 (80.0)

13

12 (92.3)

22

16 (72.7)

 

Chaplains

34

15 (44.1)

12

6 (50.0)

22

9 (40.9)

 

Therapists

34

4 (11.8)

12

1 (7.7)

22

3 (13.6)

 

Social workers

35

7 (20.0)

13

3 (23.1)

22

4 (18.2)

 

Others

34

9 (26.5)

12

1 (7.7)

22

8 (36.4)

 

Fulfillment of needs (NAFC-BvC)3mdn (range)

n

 

n

 

n

  

Taking part in your usual social/recreational activities (item 1)

33

3.0 (0.0–6.0)

11

3.0 (0.0–3.0)

22

2.5 (0.0–6.0)

0.693

Talking to others who have lost a loved one to cancer (item 2)

32

0.5 (0.0–9.0)

12

1.0 (0.0–6.0)

20

0.5 (0.0–9.0)

0.774

Reorganizing roles among family members (item 3)

35

0.0 (0.0–16.0)

13

0.0 (0.0–6.0)

22

1.0 (0.0–16.0)

0.287

Taking care of bills (item 4)

33

0.0 (0.0–12.0)

11

0.0 (0.0–4.0)

22

0.0 (0.0–12.0)

0.418

Talking with other people about cancer (item 5)

33

2.0 (0.0–6.0)

11

2.0 (0.0–3.0)

22

2.0 (0.0–6.0)

0.895

Dealing with emotional distress of other family members (item 6)

32

0.0 (0.0–9.0)

11

0.0 (0.0–6.0)

21

0.0 (0.0–9.0)

0.584

Finding meaning out of your experience with his/her cancer (item 7)

32

0.0 (0.0–6.0)

11

0.0 (0.0–6.0)

21

0.0 (0.0–4.0)

0.815

Getting help with your household activities (item 8)

34

0.0 (0.0–12.0)

12

0.0 (0.0–12.0)

22

0.0 (0.0–6.0)

0.901

Understanding medical and/or insurance coverage (item 9)

34

0.0 (0.0–12.0)

12

0.0 (0.0–9.0)

22

0.0 (0.0–12.0)

0.873

Being satisfied with your relationship with family members / friends (item 10)

33

3.0 (0.0–9.0)

12

3.0 (0.0–9.0)

21

3.0 (0.0–6.0)

0.811

Taking care of your own health (item 11)

34

3.0 (0.0–12.0)

12

3.0 (0.0–8.0)

22

3.0 (0.0–12.0)

0.986

Dealing with lifestyle changes (item 12)

33

2.0 (0.0–16.0)

12

1.0 (1.0–9.0)

21

2.0 (0.0–16.0)

0.618

Dealing with your emotional distress (item 13)

34

3.0 (0.0–16.0)

13

1.0 (0.0–9.0)

21

3.0 (0.0–16.0)

0.400

Getting help from others to take time for yourself (item 14)

34

0.0 (0.0–12.0)

12

0.0 (0.0–12.0)

22

1.0 (0.0–9.0)

0.363

Meeting your personal needs (item 15)

32

2.0 (0.0–6.0)

10

2.5 (0.0–6.0)

22

2.0 (0.0–4.0)

0.795

Getting together with family / friends (item 16)

32

3.0 (0.0–9.0)

10

3.0 (0.0–4.0)

22

1.5 (0.0–9.0)

0.219

Taking time off from work (item 17)

32

0.0 (0.0–12.0)

10

0.0 (0.0–3.0)

22

0.0 (0.0–12.0)

0.646

Understanding/navigating the health care system (item 18)

32

2.0 (0.0–8.0)

10

2.5 (0.0–8.0)

22

1.0 (0.0–8.0)

0.889

Helping other family members find meaning out of his/her cancer (item 19)

33

0.0 (0.0–8.0)

11

0.0 (0.0–6.0)

22

0.0 (0.0–8.0)

1.000

Getting legal paperwork done (item 20)

32

2.5 (0.0–16.0)

11

3.0 (0.0–16.0)

21

2.0 (0.0–16.0)

0.639

Bereavement and health outcomes

       

Coping4mdn (range)

       

Meaning-Making

34

1.5 (1.0–5.0)

12

1.0 (1.0–4.0)

22

2.5 (1.0–5.0)

0.444

Benefit-finding

34

4.0 (1.0–5.0)

12

4.0 (1.0–5.0)

22

3.0 (1.0–5.0)

0.231

Identity change

33

2.0 (1.0–4.0)

12

2.4 (1.0–4.0)

21

2.0 (1.0–4.0)

0.518

Resilience (BRS-6)5mdn (range)

34

3.5 (2.3-5.0)

12

3.8 (2.8-5.0)

22

3.4 (2.3-5.0)

0.136

Grief intensity (BGQ-5)6mdn (range)

34

4.0 (0.0–10.0)

12

4.0 (0.0–7.0)

22

5.0 (0.0–10.0)

0.309

Self-perceived health7mdn (range)

       

Self-perceived health

33

81.0 (28.0-100.0)

12

90.0 (50.0-100.0)

21

75.0 (28.0-100.0)

0.228

Sense of well-being

33

66.0 (21.0-100.0)

12

67.50 (40.0-100.0)

21

66.0 (21.0-100.0)

0.567

Self-perceived stress

33

40.0 (0.0–90.0)

12

24.5 (0.0–85.0)

21

60.0 (0.0–90.0)

0.122

  1. Note. mdn = median, * p-value of a two-sided Mann-Whitney U-test between the groups health institution and home-care
  2. 1 ICE-FPSQ = “ICEland Family Perceived Support Questionnaire”, score range: 14–70; high score = high quality of received support, “ICE-FPSQ Cognitive subscale”, score range: 5–25, high score = high quality of received cognitive support, “ICE-FPSQ Emotion subscale”, score range: 9–45, high score = high quality of received emotional support
  3. 2 CANHELP = “CANadian Health Care EvaLuation Project– Bereavement version”, score range: 1–5, high score = high satisfaction in EoL care
  4. 3 NAFC-BvC = “Needs Assessment of Family Caregivers– Bereaved to Cancer”, score range: 0–16, high score = no fulfillment
  5. 4 “Meaning-making question”, score range: 1–5; high score = having made a good deal of sense of the death, “Benefit finding question”, score range: 1–5, high score = great benefit, “Identity change”, score range: 1–5, high score = very different sense of identity
  6. 5 BRS-6 = “Brief Resilience Scale”, score range: 1–5; high score = high resilience
  7. 6 BGQ-5 = “Brief Grief Questionnaire”, score range: 0–10; low score = low grief reaction
  8. 7 Self-developed questions, score range: 0-100; high score = high self-perceived health / high sense of well-being / high self-perceived stress
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BMC Health Services Research

ISSN: 1472-6963

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