Family Assessment Vs. Positive and Negative Emotions of Informal Caregivers of Oncology Patients Receiving Home-Based Palliative Care

Some studies involving informal caregivers of oncology patients noted that family assessment is associated with their mental health. The objective of this study is to demonstrate such a dependency in relation to informal caregivers of oncology patients receiving home-based palliative care. This study is concerned with the dependency between family assessment (family cohesion, family flexibility, family communication, and satisfaction with family life) and perceived emotions, including stress. It comprised 109 Polish informal caregivers (34 men and 75 women) of patients receiving palliative care at home. The study found that satisfaction with family life was a crucial predictor of positive emotions. This means that interventions aimed at improving satisfaction with family life may simultaneously affect the psychological functioning of informal caregivers of palliative oncology patients. Such interventions may serve to improve the quality of home-based palliative care both in regard to patients and caregivers.