Determinants of Family Caregiver Well-Being in Home-Based End-of-Life Care: A Qualitative Synthesis.

TL;DR

Family caregiver well-being in home-based end-of-life care is shaped by multilevel factors including personal coping strategies, relationship quality, care demands, and healthcare system access. Healthcare services should shift from patient-only models to genuine caregiver partnership with tailored support across physical, psychological, social, and spiritual domains.

Key findings

• Well-being determinants operate across four interconnected levels: personal factors (coping, health literacy), relational factors (family dynamics, social support), care-related factors (symptom management, night-time needs), and systemic factors (service access, provider relationships, cultural norms)
• Quality of professional relationships and availability of comprehensive support services are fundamental to caregiver well-being
• Healthcare systems must recognize caregivers as dual-role individuals—both care providers and people with their own support needs requiring assessment and intervention
• Recommended practice changes include providing named points of contact, comprehensive multidomain assessment, and culturally tailored support aligned with disease trajectory

Why this matters at the bedside

Directly relevant to palliative care and primary care teams managing home-based end-of-life care. Provides actionable framework for integrating family caregiver well-being into clinical practice, improving patient outcomes and caregiver satisfaction through systematic, culturally sensitive support models.