Approaching the family in palliative care

Palijativna skrb označava brigu o bolesniku i održavanje njegove kvalitete života u terminalnoj fazi neizlječive bolesti. Ona podrazumijeva holistički pristup i brigu za bolesnika i njegove članove obitelji. Obitelj je u ovom slučaju ono što pacijent zove obitelj, neovisno o krvnom srodstvu. Ona dakle nije samo primaoc skrbi nego i aktivni sudionik jer preuzima skrb u mnogim situacijama na mnogo praktičnih načina, od pružanja utjehe do pomoći u racionalnom pogledu na život. Na funkcioniranje obitelji kao cjeline značajno utječu ponašanje članova obitelji, komunikacija, interakcija, uloga u obitelji te samo iskustvo umiranja i suočavanja sa smrću. Posebni izazov palijativnoj medicini predstavlja uključivanje obitelji u komunikaciju. Kako bi se lakše prevladale teškoće s kojima se obitelj suočava, potrebna im je podrška stručnjaka koji će im pomoći da nadiđu novonastalu situaciju te na taj način lakše pristupe svom umirućem članu obitelji. Obitelj se nikako ne smije osjećati zapostavljeno ako postoji indikacija za prijam bolesnika u ustanovu za palijativnu skrb. Članove obitelji valja uključiti u njegu bolesnika koliko im to god odgovara kako se ne bi osjećali isključenima zbog profesionalnosti osoblja. Također, bolesnik je mirniji ako zna da njegova obitelj ima podršku jer većina njih je zabrinuta kako će se njihovi najbliži suočiti s tim teškim razdobljem. Cilj ovoga rada i istraživanja bilo je ispitati zadovoljstvo obitelji palijativnoga pacijenta kvalitetom pružene palijativne skrbi u Službi za produženo liječenje i palijativnu skrb Novi Marof. U istraživanju je korišten anonimni anketni upitnik „Pristup obitelji u palijativnoj skrbi“. U istraživanju je sudjelovalo 75 ispitanika, od kojih je (66,7%) bilo ženskoga spola, dok je 33,3 % bilo muških sudionika. Čak 86% ispitanika odgovorilo je da je upoznato s pojmom „palijativna skrb“, a samo 48% ispitanika tražilo bi pomoć u obliku savjetovanja i pomoći dok bi 58% ispitanika za isto tražili medicinsku sestru u palijativi. Rezultati istraživanja pokazuju da su članovi obitelji palijativnih pacijenata u prosjeku vrlo zadovoljni s pruženom skrbi za svoga člana obitelji u Službi za produženo liječenje i palijativnu skrb Novi Marof.Palliative care means caring for a patient and sustaining his quality of life in the terminal phase of an incurable illness. It understands a holistic approach and care for a patient as well as the members of his family. In this case, family are the people who the patient refers to as family, whereas blood relation is of no importance. Family is not only receiving care, but also actively participates in giving care in a lot of situations and a lot of practical ways, from giving comfort to maintaining the rational view of life. The functioning of a family as a whole is greatly influenced by the behaviour of its members, communication, interaction, family role and previous experience in dealing with death. A special challenge in palliative care is engaging the family into communication. Family members should be offered professional help and support in overcoming this new difficult situation and approaching its dying member. In case there is an indication for receiving a patient into an institution for palliative care, the family should not feel left out in any way. Family members should be included in caring for a patient to the extend they feel comfortable with, so they would not feel left out due to the professional staff. Additionally, the patient feels more at ease knowing that his family members are offered support, since most of them are worried about their loved ones facing the difficult period ahead of them. The aim of this thesis as well as this research was to question how pleased were the family members of a palliative care patient with the service and care provided in The Service for Extended Treatment and Palliative Care in Novi Marof. The research was conducted using an anonymous questionnaire “Approaching The Family in Palliative Care”. 75 participants took part in the survey, 66.7% of who were female and 33.3% male. 86% of the examinees stated they are familiar with the term “palliative care”, and only 48% of the examinees would ask for professional help in the form of counseling, while 58% would ask the same from a nurse in palliative care. The research results show that the family members of patients in palliative care are very pleased with the provided care their family member received in The Service for Extended Treatment and Palliative Care in Novi Marof