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Toward a model of continuous care: A necessity for caregiving partners

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 February 2015

Melissa P. Masterson ,
Karen E. Hurley ,
Talia Zaider  and
David W. Kissane
Melissa P. Masterson*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York Department of Clinical Psychology, Fordham University, Bronx, New York
Karen E. Hurley
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, New York
Talia Zaider
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York
David W. Kissane
Affiliation:
Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, School of Psychology and Psychiatry, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Canada Department of Psychiatry, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, New York
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Melissa P. Masterson, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, 641 Lexington Avenue, 7th Floor, New York, New York 10022. E-Mail: masterm1@mskcc.org
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Abstract

Objective:

Caregiving partners constitute a unique group, who provide both physical and emotional care for patients. There has been extensive research conducted on caregivers during either the caregiving or bereavement phase; however, these phases are often treated as separate entities rather than as part of a continuum.

Method:

In this paper, utilizing relevant literature and clinical observations, we map the emotional journey and lived experience of caregivers moving from disease progression, to the end of life, to the dying process itself, and then through life after the death of a partner. Along this journey, we identify the links between pre-death caregiving and bereavement.

Results:

Our illustration raises awareness regarding the unmet needs experienced by caregiving partners across the continuum and provides an alternative framework through which clinicians can view this course.

Significance:

of Results We bolster arguments for improved palliative care services and early interventions with distressed caregiving partners by emphasizing continuity of care both before and after a patient's death.

Keywords

CaregivingBereavementContinuity of carePartners
Type
Review Article
Information
Palliative & Supportive Care , Volume 13 , Issue 5 , October 2015 , pp. 1459 - 1467
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015 

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