Table 13.

A Priori Codes from Hudson Conceptual Model of Family Caregivers for Palliative Care

Event	Change in environment or patient status, e.g., new information, worsening of symptoms, return home from hospital
Appraisal	Determining whether event is relevant to caregiver or patient’s well-being
Threat	Event poses a threat to patient or caregiver well-being that may be outside of caregiver’s capacity to address
Challenge	Event poses a potentially surmountable obstacle within caregiver’s capacity
Harm	Event leads to direct harm to patient or caregiver
Benign	Event is unlikely to change patient or caregiver status or may improve it
Irrelevant	Event has no bearing on patient or caregiver status
Coping
Problem-focused coping	Acting on oneself or the environment, such as seeking information
Emotion-focused coping	Changing the relationship to the environment, or changing the relational meaning of the experience to avoid stress
Event Outcome
Favourable resolution	Outcome is consistent with goals and values
Unfavourable resolution	Outcome is contrary to goals and values, such as harm
No resolution	Situation persists without opportunity for change
Emotion Outcome
Positive emotion	Favourable resolution leads to satisfaction, end of coping
Distress	Unfavourable resolution of event leads to distress
Meaning-based coping	Unfavourable or no resolution leads to adapting one’s mental state to be able to respond to an event
Positive reappraisal	Finding meaning in the event based on beliefs and values
Revised goals	Adjusting goals for situation to obtain control
Spiritual beliefs	Activating spiritual beliefs to fuel emotion- or problem-based functions
Positive events	A satisfactory outcome to the event leads to positive appraisal
Variables
Preparedness	How ready the caregiver perceives being, regardless of actual skill or knowledge
Mastery	Sense of control and enhanced self-esteem through overcoming a stressor, development of new abilities, very broadly (not task-specific)
Competence	Perception of self as adequate at caregiving specifically
Self-efficacy	Belief in one’s own ability to manage a situation. Not an inherent trait but event- and task-specific
Anxiety, depression and distress	Negative psychological effects of ongoing caregiving demands
Social support	Interactions with friends, family, coworkers. Can be positive or negative, or absent.
Information	Seeking information to assess problems and solutions. Successful information seeking facilitates more effective coping.
Rewards	Satisfaction, positive emotional gains from caregiving, such as receiving love from patient, seeing patient content, feeling accomplished
Meaningfulness	Caregiver sees role as worthwhile investment or challenge
Positive emotions	Feelings of happiness, satisfaction, recognition as opposed to stress
Optimism	Inherent trait that buffers caregiver against strains of caregiving
Mutuality	Gratitude and meaning and idea of reciprocity in relationship with patient, closeness
Respite	Activities or interactions outside of caregiving that reduce stress and allow caregiver to recognise his/her own needs and interests
Cultural factors	Expectations about familial roles that shape expectations of caregiving and influence stress and coping (e.g., duty or honour to care for spouse or parent)
Caregiver burden and health	Physical, emotional, psychological, financial, or social problems related to caregiving (e.g., lack of sleep, numbed emotions, isolation)
Choice and commitment	Making a conscious choice to take on caregiving role
Patient’s disease, dependency, and illness duration	Patient’s physical needs, psychological aspects of illness, and own recognition and outlook on illness
Caregiver age, gender, socioeconomic status	Unclear but possible relationships in response to caregiving based on relationship status, age (physical ability), economics
Additional codes
External influences	Legal, economic, or other structural factors that shape the environment in which care is provided overall and the caregiver’s options for providing care (e.g., insurance, sick leave)
Grief	Anticipatory or posthumous grieving