Interventions to Alleviate the Psychosocial Needs of Hospice Family Caregivers: A Systematic Review

Hospice care is a growing service to individuals with terminal and chronic illnesses to promote quality of life and comfort versus treatment at the end of their life. The support of hospice care extends to the family of hospice patients. Many patients who wish to receive hospice care at home have involvement from family to become their primary caregiver. This systematic review was designed to answer the question, what interventions are available to alleviate the psychosocial needs of hospice family caregivers. Based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria set for this study 11 articles met criteria to be analyzed. Two major themes emerged from the data, counseling services, and education opportunities that was further broken down into informal education and psychoeducation. Further research should continue to explore effective interventions for hospice family caregivers