The Last Day Narratives: An Exploration of the End of Life for Patients with Cancer from a Caregivers' Perspective.

Abstract

<b><i>Background:</i></b> Surviving family caregivers describe the end-of-life experience as "very distressing" and half of those surveyed indicate inadequate emotional support; however, little is known about the causes of distress on the last day of life. <b><i>Objective:</i></b> The purpose of this study was to explore the experience of the last day of life from the perspective of the surviving caregiver. <b><i>Design:</i></b> The study used a narrative inquiry approach. <b><i>Setting/Subject:</i></b> Surviving caregivers of deceased adult cancer patients at a single institution were invited to participate. <b><i>Measurements:</i></b> After reviewing, coding, and categorizing the narratives individually, they were collectively considered and thematically analyzed across all cases to provide a summative analysis. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Six themes captured the overall experiences: (1) relationships and communication with health care providers impact overall experience, (2) being able to prepare for death was a source of comfort, (3) being a caregiver impacts quality of life and identity, (4) spiritual visitations as a welcome experience, (5) navigating the dying days and early grief period wrought with guilt and closure, and (6) loss of community contributes to distress and distracts from healing. <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> In this study, distress was most often linked to communication failures. Caregivers also experienced distress and guilt related to the loss of their caregiver role. Findings also support a need for increased preparation for caregivers. Finally, the study showed the frequency of visitations/spiritual experiences during grieving.