Year of grant:
2021

Research Area:
Heilsa

Project type:
Ph.d.verkætlan

Project title:
Palliativ umsorgan í heiminum: Ein kvalitativ kanning í Føroyum

Grant number:
0354

Project manager:
Elsa J. D. Johannesen

Institution/company:
Deildin fyri Heilsu- og sjúkrarøktarvísindi á Fróðskaparsetrinum

Other participants:
Ása Róin, Helle U. Timm

Project period:
01/10-2021 - 28/02-2023

Total budget:
kr. 1.092.623

Grant from the FRC in DKK:
kr. 360.000

Project description:
Summary of project. Several studies have shown that most patients suffering from an incurable disease wish to die at home, but only a few achieve to do so. The number of home deaths in the Faroe Islands in recent years has been around 12% and the number of deaths in the hospital has been around 53%. For the patients and their families, home as a setting contributes to feeling a sense of security and being able to continue a normal life as much as possible. However, studies have shown that family members taking care of a patient in the terminal phase often report more unmet needs than the dying person him- or herself, resulting in anxiety, frustration, and distress. Family careers have reported being traumatized when witnessing the physical deterioration of their loved ones and being unprepared for the final hours and moments before death. Nurses play a key role in coordinating and delivering palliative home care. However, research has shown that nurses often lack special training in palliative care. One way of increasing the number of people being able to die at home has proven to be to establish specialized palliative teams to support and give professional advice and care to both the patients and their families. In the Faroe Islands, a palliative team has been established and is situated at the university hospital, but because of financial and structural impediments, the team is not involved in primary care except for giving advice by phone as needed. The aim of this study is to obtain knowledge about family caregivers´ experience of the support they receive during a terminal phase and nurses´ experience of giving support to families, who have taken on the task of end-of-life care for a family member in a home care setting. The findings will contribute to further the development of palliative care by shedding light on present conditional challenges. The study is qualitative and includes individual interviews with 10 to 12 family caregivers and two focus group interviews with primary health care nurses. The family careers included are aged eighteen or older and of both sexes and the participating nurses must have a minimum of one year experience with palliative care in a home care setting. Data will be analysed according to Dahlager's and Fredslund’s hermeneutic method and the Theory of Everyday Life by Birthe Bech-Jørgensen and Afaf Meleis’s transition theory will form the theoretical frame. The study follows´s SSN's ethical guidelines for nursing research in the Nordic countries and ethical guidelines in relation to small communities.

Project status:
Virkin



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