Palliative caregivers difficulties in Madeira

Taking care of a family member who is dying is an intense and challenging experience. Family caregivers are faced simultaneously with increasing dependence, their own fears about death and the emotional impact of loss and grief. It is essential to identify the local difficulties of palliative caregivers in order to intervene preventively and to adapt resources. Aim: To identify and analyze the main difficulties of informal caregivers of palliative outpatients in Madeira. Methods: Cross sectional descriptive and analytical study about caregivers of palliative patients, with qualitative approaches. The sample includes 90 family caregivers of patients receiving palliative care at home. Data collection has been conducted from April 2014 to April 2015, through a structured interview put together by researchers and based on literature review and five clinical experts in palliative care. Data analyses is going through a content analysis. The study was approved by the ethics committee of the Madeira Health Service. Results: This study is still under development. Therefore, we will present at the conference the final results. Preliminary results indicate that caregivers are faced with family difficulties related to the availability to care for the patient and increased family conflicts caused by the different opinions regarding their care. Most caregivers do not know how to precede if the patient dies at home, and some caregivers reported difficulties in overcoming the embarrassment related to their patients’ hygiene care or dealing with malignant wounds odors. Conclusions: These preliminary results can help us to intervene with caregivers in areas sometimes poorly explored.