Carers of people affected by cancer and other long-term conditions at end of life: A qualitative study of providing a bespoke package of support in a rural setting

Abstract

Conclusion:The intervention was successful within a social care setting. The participants had no overtly negative opinions on the service in its current format and all held it in high regard. Carers felt a sense of reassurance from having background support and maintained that their situation would have been worse had this support not been there. 2 Key statementsWhat is already known about the topic• The importance to care in the community of unpaid caregiving by family members and friends has been recognised progressively in UK legislation and policy over the last 20 years.• Caring for someone with cancer can have a significant impact on the carers' health and wellbeing.• Tailored and specific interventions for informal caregivers in palliative care are rare. What this paper adds• The paper offers insight into the experiences of carers in receipt of an innovative intervention in a predominantly rural English county.Implications for practice, theory or policy• These issues necessitate reflection on the commissioning of carer support within palliative care service, including aspects of staff skills and modes of communication.

A Rapid Systematic Review on the Experiences of Cancer Survivors Residing in Rural Areas during the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Importantly, the role and needs of informal caregivers should not be neglected especially in rural areas where cancer survivors can already lack access to both medical and social support [ 64 ]. Much like rural cancer survivors, informal and unpaid caregivers from rural areas are susceptible to high levels of depression and anxiety, feelings of isolation and financial problems because of their role as a carer [ 31 , 73 , 74 ]. Despite being part of the inclusion criteria for this review, there was only one study that looked explicitly at the experiences of informal caregivers of cancer survivors in rural areas during COVID-19 and future research should make concentrated efforts to include and involve them.…”

Barriers and facilitators to implementing the Carer Support Needs Assessment Tool in a community palliative care setting

“…They described creating opportunities for carer support, by proactively arranging individual meetings with carers, where they encouraged them to use the CSNAT. Nelson et al (2017) state that meeting with carers is important to allow time for them to discuss their needs. This enables carer support by providing the opportunity for the CSNAT assessment to occur.…”