The Effect of Palliative Care And Training On The Quality of Life of Terminal Stage Cancer Patients And Their Caregivers

Abstract

Purpose The study aims to determine the effect of palliative care and training provided to caregivers of hospitalized patients with terminal cancer theoretically, practically and visually on their own and patients’ quality of life.Methods This quasi-experimental study was conducted at a palliative care unit in Turkey between January and June 2019. The study included 35 hospitalized patients with cancer and 35 caregivers. Caregivers were provided with palliative care and training three times a week apart. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, Friedman test and iterative analysis of variance.Results After the palliative care and training, there was an increase in cancer patients’ emotional function sub-scale and global health and decrease in their fatigue and nausea-vomiting symptoms (p<0.05). The mean scores of caregivers from role difficulty, pain, vitality, social function, emotional and mental health sub-scales were high (positively) (p<0.001).Conclusions Palliative care and training have a positive effect on caregiver burden and recovery in some quality of life sub-scales of both patients and caregivers.