When Do We Need to Care About the Caregiver - Research Paper Example

Research Critique

• Primary Quantitative Research Article

When Do We Need to Care About the Caregiver? Supportive Care Needs, Anxiety, and Depression Among Informal Caregivers of Patients With Cancer and Cancer Survivors.

• Research Areas

The researchers effectively addressed the five key areas of a research project. These are introduction, literature review, methodology, data analysis, and conclusion sections. In the introduction section, the research indicates how cancer is a health condition that affects both the patients and their caregivers. The caregivers are the various people who assist the cancer patient in the management of their conditions; for example, relatives and friends. The caregivers are affected emotionally as a result of the pain that the patient experiences. As a result, they experience anxiety, stress, or depression. In the literature review section, the research indicates the existing knowledge about the effect of cancer on the caregivers. The review explains the negative outcomes of taking care of cancer patients. The caregivers experience distress because of the inability of the patient to live a healthy life. Anxiety occurs when the caregivers observe the deteriorating status of the patient. Depression involves the negative thoughts about the health status of the cancer patient; for example, the care giver may think that the patient can die if effective treatment is not provided. The methodology indicates the data collection and analysis procedures. The research involves a cross-sectional survey. 188 patients who have diverse cancer cases and their caregivers were recruited for the study. The caregivers were requested to fill the Supportive Care Needs Survey (Halina et al., 2015). The patients also filled the corresponding questionnaire. In the conclusion section, the study indicates that a significant proportion of the caregivers have insufficient support. For example, they do not get sufficient emotional support to enable them cope with the poor health of the patients.

• Critique of the Evidence

The evidence provided in the various sections of the research supports the provided conclusion. The conclusion indicates that the caregivers have insufficient support and unmet needs. Health stakeholders should adopt measures that aim at improving the conditions and the welfare of the caregivers. The introduction indicates the challenges that the caregivers experience. They have high anxiety levels because of the trauma associated with taking care of a person with a deteriorating health condition. The literature review section is effective in providing existing information about the consequences that the caregivers experience. Depression is one consequence and it results from the feeling of hopelessness about the condition of the patient. Cancer is a dangerous condition that can cause death if not treated properly. The condition is also expensive to manage and this exhausts the financial resources of the families of the patients. The methodology supports the conclusion. The research data was provided by both patients and caregivers. The researchers, therefore, compared the challenges experienced by the patients to the experiences of the caregivers. The data analysis process was effective in formulating the conclusion and the recommendation of the research. The analysis showed that 43.6% of the caregivers have unmet needs (Halina et al., 2015). They require support to enable them provide the care effectively. Counseling is one support that can enable the caregivers to cope with the challenges of taking care of cancer patients. Counseling improves the emotional stability levels of the caregivers because they understand the empathy that health professionals have because of their important roles in the recovery of the patient.

• Protection of Participants and Cultural Considerations

The identities of the research participants were protected. The researchers did not disclose the names of the people who took part in the study. The researchers adhered to the ethical standards set by the Ethics Commission of Heidelberg Medical School. The participants participated voluntarily in the study. The research involved adults. They provided written consent before the research process. The research took place in Germany; therefore, the participants were expected to understand the German language and care practices (Halina et al., 2015).

• Strengths and Limitations

The research has several strengths. It protects the privacy of the participants. People engage in research if they are assured that their names will not be disclosed to unauthorized individuals. The research generated effective findings. This is because many caregivers experience trauma when taking care of a cancer patient whose health is deteriorating. It is important to address their needs. However, the study also has several limitations. It does not indicate the sponsor of the research. The sponsors provide financing support because they have an interest in the findings and recommendations of the study. The research also does not explain the type of care and support that should be provided to the caregivers of the cancer patients.

• The Evidence and Nursing Practice

The research findings are critical in improving the quality of care received by the cancer patients. This is by providing sufficient emotional and material support to the caregivers. The caregivers who have emotional stability and have appropriate information are important in improving the health outcomes of the cancer patients.

• Primary Qualitative Research Article

“Supporting older people with cancer and life‐limiting conditions dying at home: a qualitative study of patient and family caregiver experiences of hospice at home care”

• Research Areas

The study has the five research areas of introduction, literature review, methodology, data analysis, and conclusion. The introduction indicates an increasing number of the elderly cancer patients prefer to have the end-of- life care in the domestic environment. There is, therefore, the need of people in the home to have sufficient skills in caring for the elderly cancer patients. Cancer is a domestic affair because the cancer patients are cared for by friends and relatives. These domestic caregivers are referred to as informal caregivers because their roles are not officially recognized in the healthcare system.

The literature review explains the burden experienced by the informal caregivers. The informal caregivers provide complex care in the domestic environment; for example, symptom monitoring and medication provision. However, they have insufficient support, confidence, and information on how to perform the care roles effectively. Approximately 6.5 million individuals in the United Kingdom provide care to cancer patients in the home environment. About 500,000 of the cancer patients are projected to die in one year (Jack et al., 2016). Most of them are the elderly cancer patients. It is hence important to improve the quality of the end-of-life care at home. Effective home care measures should be adopted to minimize the burden by proving training and counseling services to the caregivers. The hospice nurses should be given the training motivation to effectively assist the informal caregivers in the delicate end-of-life care process. The information used in the literature review section was sourced from recent nursing journals that are scholarly and peer-reviewed. These journals include the International Journal of Public Health, the Journal of Clinical Oncology, the Palliative Medicine, and the Annals of Oncology. The nursing journals have scholarly articles that discuss the care of the cancer patients at home.

The methodology section explains the descriptive qualitative aspects of the research. The participants in the study were receiving the hospice at home care services. The 41 participants were given semi-structured interviews. They comprised 25 cancer caregivers and 16 elderly cancer patients. Data analysis was done thematically. The conclusion states that the hospice at home service is important in improving the health outcomes of the elderly cancer patients. The hospice nurses should visit the patients and their caregivers at home to assist them in the care process.

• Critique of the Evidence

The introduction explains the rising demand of the informal care givers in the society due to the increasing population of the elderly cancer patients. The elderly patients also have the desire to receive the end-of-life care at home. The conclusion indicates that it is important to appreciate the efforts of the informal caregivers by giving them emotional, information, and material support. The hospice nurses should visit the caregivers at home to communicate effective care strategies and medication. The literature review explains the challenges faced by the caregivers. They have an emotional burden because of the high anxiety and trauma associated with caring for a sick person. The elderly cancer patients are in the final stages of their lives. The caregivers are affected emotionally by the thought that the patients will die soon at home.

The data analysis process involved thematic discussions with the elderly cancer patients and the caregivers. The thematic areas are aimed at ensuring the holistic hospice at home care services for the elderly patients. The ‘Promoting Choice’ theme communicates the desire of the elderly cancer patients to receive the end-of-life care in a familiar and comfortable home environment. The ‘Caring for the Caregivers’ theme encourages the hospice nurses to visit and train the home caregivers on the effective cancer management measures (Jack et al., 2016). The evidence provided in the research supports the conclusion. This is because the hospice at home care improves the health outcomes of the elderly cancer care patients. The hospice nurses should collaborate with the care givers to ensure that they have sufficient information to provide the end-of-life care to the patients. The hospice professionals are expected to provide proper medical supplies to help the caregivers in the care process; for example, medication and protective equipment like gloves. The research evidence shows that the informal caregivers who receive counseling services are effective in their work. This is because the expert information provided by the counselor enables them to understand their roles in the care of the elderly cancer patients.

• Protection of Participants and Cultural Considerations

All the participants were above the age of 18. The consent to participate in the research was provided through writing. The respondents did not provide their names to protect their identity. The researchers told them that the data and information that they provide will be used for the purposes of improving cancer care in the domestic environment (Jack et al., 2016). The positive objective of the research motivated the respondent to cooperate with the researchers throughout the data collection, analysis, and presentation process. The study was conducted in the European cultural context. The British are very social and, therefore, family, friends, and work colleagues participate in caring for a person who has the cancer condition. It is the responsibility of the hospice nurses to coach or train the informal caregivers on the responsibility of caring for the elderly cancer patient.

• Strengths and Limitations

The study is effective in several ways. It is presented in a simple language that can be understood by individuals who are not professionals in the healthcare field. Most informal caregivers do not work in the healthcare sector. However, they play significant roles in improving the outcome of the cancer patients. The simple English assist the ordinary people, who provide care at home, to understand the importance of the roles. The study shows that with proper cooperation between the hospice health professionals and the informal caregivers, effective end-of-life care can be provided to the elderly individuals in the comfort of their homes (Jack et al., 2016). There is one major limitation of the study. The hospice at home service cannot address emergency care effectively. This is because the critical care medical facilities and expert health staff can only be found in a health institution.

• The Evidence and Nursing Practice

The findings generated by the research are important in improving the experience of the informal care providers who offer cancer care in the domestic environment. Nursing best practices demand that these caregivers be given basic training in healthcare. The hospice professionals are important in coaching the care givers on the proper medication and care approaches. Measures should also be taken to give them emotional, financial, and material support. For example, an appropriate insurance program can ensure that the informal caregivers are given monetary incentives to motivate them in their roles. The elderly cancer patients get the opportunity to receive end-of-life care in a comfortable and familiar domestic environment. They also feel happy to receive medication, and probably die next to their loved ones (Jack et al., 2016).