Background: There is evidence indicating that family sense of coherence predicts quality of family life and promotes family well-being. In families living with the palliative phase of cancer, low hope, anxiety and symptoms of depression are common in both persons with cancer and their family members. Aim: To determine whether family sense of coherence was associated with hope, anxiety and symptoms of depression, respectively, in persons with cancer in the palliative phase and their family members. Design: An observational, cross-sectional, multicentre study was conducted. Nested linear regression analyses were performed in two blocks to determine whether family sense of coherence was associated with hope, anxiety and symptoms of depression. Setting/participants: Persons with cancer ( n = 179) and their family members ( n = 165) were recruited from two oncology clinics and two palliative centres in three regions in Sweden. Results: The main findings showed that family sense of coherence was significantly and independently associated with hope, anxiety and symptoms of depression. Stronger family sense of coherence was associated with higher hope and lower anxiety and symptoms of depression levels in both persons with cancer and their family members. Conclusion: Health care providers should strive to identify families with weak family sense of coherence, because of its associations with hope, anxiety and symptoms of depression, in order to offer them professional support and thereby achieve increased well-being during the palliative phase of cancer. Future studies should expand our knowledge of family sense of coherence and how to identify families at risk of lower levels of well-being.

The aim of this population-based registry study was to explore how cancer influences the health of partners, by examining the onset of new diagnoses for partners, health care use and health care costs among partners living with patients with cancer. The sample consisted of partners of patients with cancer (N = 10 353) and partners of age- and sex-matched controls who did not have cancer (N = 74 592). Diagnoses, health care use and health care costs were studied for a continuous period starting 1 year before the date of cancer diagnosis and continued for 3 years. One year after cancer diagnosis, partners of patients with cancer had significantly more mood disorders, reactions to severe stress and ischaemic heart disease than they exhibited in the year before the diagnosis. Among partners of patients with cancer, the type of cancer was associated with the extent and form of increased health care use and costs; both health care use and costs increased among partners of patients with liver cancer, lung cancer, colon cancer and miscellaneous other cancers. The risk of poorer health varied according to the type of cancer diagnosed, and appeared related to the severity and prognosis of that diagnosis.

This study aimed to illuminate aspects of familial interactions when 1 member is in the palliative phase of his/her cancer course. An individual cancer diagnosis influences the entire family, often requiring daily life changes for all members. Current research has examined individual family member perspectives; family system nursing studies are warranted. Narrative family interviews were conducted on 13 families living with cancer. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed according to a hermeneutic method. Analyses revealed the following: Family interaction patterns were adjusted in response to changes in family life, which encompassed 3 different, but interrelated, patterns: (1) power dynamics in the family, (2) the “secret game” in the family, and (3) multifaceted closeness and distance in the family. It is crucial to adopt a family perspective during palliative care to meet each unique family's needs. Health care facilitators should be aware of the complex dynamics and challenges that these families encounter. This will help obtain a greater understanding of factors underlying effective palliative care.

ObjectivesFor patients’ entire families, it can be challenging to live with cancer during the palliative stage. However, a sense of coherence buffers stress and could help health professionals identify families that require support. Therefore, the short version of the Family Sense of Coherence Scale (FSOC-S) was translated, culturally adapted, and validated in a Swedish sample.MethodsTranslation and cross-cultural adaptation of the FSOC-S into Swedish was conducted in accordance with the World Health Organization's Process for Translation and Adaptation of Research Instruments guidelines. Participants were recruited from two oncology clinics and two palliative centers in Sweden.ResultsContent validity was supported by experts (n = 7), persons with cancer (n = 179), and family members (n = 165). Homogeneity among items was satisfactory for persons with cancer and family members (item-total correlations were 0.45‒0.70 and 0.55‒0.72, respectively) as well as internal consistency (ordinal alpha = 0.91 and 0.91, respectively). Factor analyses supported unidimensionality. FSOC-S correlated (rs > 0.3) with hope, anxiety, and symptoms of depression, which supported convergent validity. The test-retest reliability for items ranged between fair and good (kw = 0.37‒0.61).Significance of ResultsThe FSOC-S has satisfactory measurement properties to assess family sense of coherence in persons with cancer and their family members. FSOC-S could be used to identify family members who experience low levels of perceived family sense of coherence which provides health care professionals with insight into families’ needs and ability to live with cancer in the palliative stage.