Abstract
ObjectivesTo examine similarities and dissimilarities in patient and family caregiver dyads in their experience of stress, support, and sense of security.Methods144 patients and their family caregivers participated. Patients were admitted to six Swedish specialist palliative home care units and diagnosed with a non-curable disease with an expected short survival. We analysed similarity patterns of answers within dyads (correlations) as well as dissimilarities, expressed as the difference between within-dyad responses. The latter were subjected to a model-building procedure using GLM, with 13 sociodemographic and clinical characteristics as independent variables.ResultsWithin dyads, patients and family caregivers scored similar in their perception of support and sense of security with care. There was also dissimilarity within dyad responses in their perception of stress and support that could be attributed to sociodemographic or clinical characteristics. When patients scored higher levels of stress than family caregivers, the family caregiver was more likely to be male. Also family caregiver attachment style (attachment anxiety), patient age and the relationship of the family caregiver to the patient explained dissimilarities within the dyads.ConclusionsPatients and family caregivers within the dyads often, but not always, had similar scores. We suggest that it is important that the healthcare staff identify situations in which perceptions within the dyads regarding stress and perception of support differ, such that they can recognise patients’ and family caregivers’ unique needs in different situations, to be able to provide adequate support and facilitate dyadic coping.
Highlights
Living with cancer and other serious illnesses is a challenge for the patient and, not least, for the family caregiver
We suggest that it is important that the healthcare staff identify situations in which perceptions within the dyads regarding stress and perception of support differ, such that they can recognise patients’ and family caregivers’ unique needs in different situations, to be able to provide adequate support and facilitate dyadic coping
There were significant positive correlations between the responses given by the patient and those given by the family caregiver for three of the five variables (“Perception of support”, “Sense of security in care–Mastery” and “Self-efficacy”) (Table 3)
Summary
Living with cancer and other serious illnesses is a challenge for the patient and, not least, for the family caregiver. Such a situation affects the patient and caregiver as a dyad. The concept ‘dyad’ can be defined as a situation in which two individuals maintain a sociologically significant relationship [1,2]. The strength of a dyadic relationship is built on the basis of the time that the individuals spend together, and on the emotional intensity of their relationship [3]. A caring and warm relationship provides calm and steadiness and can positively influence health outcomes, while a distressed relationship can have a negative impact on health outcomes [4]
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