Signs of post-traumatic stress disorder in caregivers following an expected death: A qualitative study
- 11 April 2013
- journal article
- research article
- Published by SAGE Publications in Palliative Medicine
- Vol. 27 (7), 625-631
- https://doi.org/10.1177/0269216313483663
Abstract
Background: Complications of grief are an important area of investigation with potential to improve the well-being of palliative care caregivers. There has been little study of the prevalence or significance of post-traumatic stress disorder for those bereaved after an expected death. Aim: To identify evidence suggestive of post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms in a population of bereaved caregivers of patients who have died of ovarian cancer. Design: Caregivers' recollections of their end-of-life experiences were coded and analysed, using qualitative data obtained from interviews 6 months after the patient's death. Setting/participants: Australian Ovarian Cancer Study-Quality of Life Study is a population-based epidemiological study using mixed methods to explore caregivers' experiences following the expected death of a woman with ovarian cancer. Thirty-two caregivers from the Australian Ovarian Cancer Study-Quality of Life Study participated in semi-structured telephone interviews 6 months post-bereavement. Results: When describing the patient's death at their 6-month interview, all interviewees used language consistent with some degree of shock and traumatisation. For the majority, there was also evidence suggesting resilience and resolution. However, a number of interviewees describe intrusive memories associated with physical sights and sounds that they witnessed at the deathbed. Conclusions: This exploratory study demonstrates the phenomenon of the shocked caregiver'. If trauma symptoms are present in bereaved carers in palliative care, it has implications for palliative care provision. Given that trauma symptoms may be distinct from prolonged grief disorder, this may also have implications for provision of bereavement counselling. Further research into this phenomenon is required.This publication has 35 references indexed in Scilit:
- A Call to the Field: Complicated Grief in the DSM-5OMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying, 2012
- Guidelines for the Psychosocial and Bereavement Support of Family Caregivers of Palliative Care PatientsJournal of Palliative Medicine, 2012
- Psychological and Social Profile of Family Caregivers on Commencement of Palliative CareJournal of Pain and Symptom Management, 2011
- Is prolonged grief distinct from bereavement-related posttraumatic stress?Psychiatry Research, 2010
- Prolonged Grief Disorder: A Problem for the Past, the Present, and the FuturePLoS Medicine, 2009
- Prolonged Grief Disorder: Psychometric Validation of Criteria Proposed for DSM-V and ICD-11PLoS Medicine, 2009
- A case for inclusion of prolonged grief disorder in DSM-V.Published by American Psychological Association (APA) ,2008
- Suicidality and Bereavement: Complicated Grief as Psychiatric Disorder Presenting Greatest Risk for SuicidalitySuicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 2004
- The health impact of health care on families: a matched cohort study of hospice use by decedents and mortality outcomes in surviving, widowed spousesSocial Science & Medicine (1982), 2003
- Traumatic grief as a risk factor for mental and physical morbidityAmerican Journal of Psychiatry, 1997