Table 4.
Family caregivers utilization of support services prior SIPC (T1; N = 232) and after the patient’s death (T2; N = 160)
| Prior to SIPC (T1) (N = 232) | After the patient’s death (T2) (N = 160) | |
|---|---|---|
| n/N (%) | n/N (%) | |
| Utilization of ≥1 support service, n (%) yes a | 58/232 (25.0%) | 48/160 (30.0) |
| Support services used (multiple answers possible), n (%) yes | ||
| Psychological counseling | 38/232 (16.4) | 17/160 (10.6) |
| Social counseling | 15/232 (6.5) | 14/160 (8.8) |
| Spiritual counseling | 15/232 (6.5) | 12/160 (7.5) |
| Counseling on parenting/family issues | 10/232 (4.3) | 2/160 (1.3) |
| Counseling at cancer information center | 13/232 (5.6) | 4/160 (2.5) |
| Self-help group | 8/232 (3.4) | 9/160 (5.6) |
| Bereavement care b | n.a. | 18/160 (11.3) |
| Utilization of ≥1 bereavement support provided by the study wards, n (%) yes | n.a. | 46/127 (36.2) |
| Study wards’ bereavement support used (multiple answers possible), n (%) yes c | ||
| Commemoration ceremony | n.a. | 25/119 (21.0) |
| Open bereavement café | n.a. | 12/116 (10.3) |
| Counseling for locally available, external bereavement care | n.a. | 6/114 (8.3) |
| Barriers for accessing support services in non-users (multiple answers possible), n (%) yes d | ||
| Sufficient informal support | 129/152 (84.9) | 73/94 (77.7) |
| No subjective need | 107/150 (71.3) | 55/93 (59.1) |
| Lack of time | 64/142 (45.1) | 24/87 (27.6) |
| Preferring support by treating physicians | 65/143 (45.5) | 28/88 (31.8) |
| No expectation of subjective benefit | 49/134 (36.6) | 39/85 (45.9) |
| Lack of knowledge about psychosocial services | 50/146 (34.2) | 27/90 (30.0) |
| Services too far away | 28/139 (20.1) | 20/85 (23.5) |
| Potential burden to family/partnership | 5/142 (3.5) | 9/88 (10.2) |
Abbreviations: SIPC, specialist inpatient palliative care; n.a., not applicable
a Including external bereavement services and those of the study wards after the patient’s death; b Only external bereavement services; c Services only provided at one study ward are not displayed; d Only family caregivers who reported not having accessed any service at respective times were included (T1: N = 174; T2: N = 112)