The family caregivers' transitional experience of admitting a family member from home to the palliative care unit

Canada's aging population and increasing incidence of cancer, in both older and younger adults (Canadian Cancer Society, 2007), has resulted in palliative care becoming a growing concern for Canadians. Family caregivers are expected to provide care to ill family members at home with limited training, support or community resources. While research has recognized numerous challenges of providing care at home along with the consequences on the caregiver, a thorough literature review showed little research has been published about the caregiver's transitional experience of admitting a family member from home to the palliative care unit (PCU). Thus, a Heideggerian phenomenology qualitative approach was used in this study to explore the question: What are the family caregivers' transitional experiences of admitting family members from home to the PCU? Ten participants completed in-depth interviews and Colaizzi's (1978) approach guided the study's analysis. The findings produced a framework entitled: Transitional Experiences of Family Caregivers: A Puzzle of Care Provision. It contained eight themes of "In the beginning - Searching for answers", "Managing at home - Juggling act", "Trying to get through it", "A shifting situation - Triggers leading to PCU admission", "The transition - Making the decision to go to PCU", "Getting near the end - PCU", "Looking back on care", and "Getting ready to move on". Follow up interviews verified that the themes and framework accurately described participants' experiences. This study is the first to thoroughly illustrate the family caregiver's transitional experience of caring for a family member from home to the PCU. It is hoped that this study raises greater awareness and understanding of the family caregivers' transitional experiences