Perspectives of telemedicine-based services among family caregivers of patients with end-of-life cancer: a qualitative study in mainland China
Abstract Background Despite being driven by a strong sense of duty and familial obligation, providing care for patients nearing the end of life poses challenges for family caregivers. Telemedicine has rapidly gained traction as a transformative approach to healthcare delivery, offering an array of b...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2024-01-01
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| Series: | BMC Palliative Care |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12904-024-01347-0 |
| _version_ | 1797355456254967808 |
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| author | Junchen Guo Xianghua Xu Chaoyi Liu Ying Wang Yongyi Chen |
| author_facet | Junchen Guo Xianghua Xu Chaoyi Liu Ying Wang Yongyi Chen |
| author_sort | Junchen Guo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Despite being driven by a strong sense of duty and familial obligation, providing care for patients nearing the end of life poses challenges for family caregivers. Telemedicine has rapidly gained traction as a transformative approach to healthcare delivery, offering an array of benefits that could be particularly valuable in end-of-life care. However, research on the perspectives of telemedicine-based services among family caregivers of patients with end-of-life cancer is limited. Therefore, this study aims to explore the perspectives and preferences of telemedicine-based services among family caregivers of patients with end-of-life cancer and provide a framework for developing and executing a tailored telemedicine-based end-of-life care program that addresses the unique needs of family caregivers in mainland China. Method A descriptive phenomenological approach was used. Family caregivers were selected using purposive sampling at a tertiary cancer hospital. One-on-one semi-structured interviews were conducted with the participants from November to December 2022. Colaizz’s method was used to analyze the interviews. Results Fourteen participants participated in interviews. Three themes and ten subthemes were identified: motivation to receive telemedicine services (relief from the burden of home care; access to professional health care services), supportive care needs for telemedicine services (support for symptom management; negative emotional adjustment; death education; daily life care guidance), and functional expectations of telemedicine service platforms (ease of use; real-time online guidance and response; personalized automatic reminder; targeted matching push of health knowledge). Conclusion Family caregivers expressed interest in telemedicine-based services and identified various care needs before receiving telemedicine services. The findings of this study can help policymakers and healthcare providers develop more effective and culturally appropriate telemedicine-based service programs that can better support family caregivers of end-of-life cancer patients. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T14:11:29Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b287aca32f8944cc9f6fd0a3b595d856 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1472-684X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T14:11:29Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Palliative Care |
| spelling | doaj.art-b287aca32f8944cc9f6fd0a3b595d8562024-01-14T12:42:30ZengBMCBMC Palliative Care1472-684X2024-01-012311910.1186/s12904-024-01347-0Perspectives of telemedicine-based services among family caregivers of patients with end-of-life cancer: a qualitative study in mainland ChinaJunchen Guo0Xianghua Xu1Chaoyi Liu2Ying Wang3Yongyi Chen4Department of Palliative Care, Hunan Cancer HospitalDepartment of Palliative Care, Hunan Cancer HospitalDepartment of Palliative Care, Hunan Cancer HospitalDepartment of Palliative Care, Hunan Cancer HospitalDepartment of Palliative Care, Hunan Cancer HospitalAbstract Background Despite being driven by a strong sense of duty and familial obligation, providing care for patients nearing the end of life poses challenges for family caregivers. Telemedicine has rapidly gained traction as a transformative approach to healthcare delivery, offering an array of benefits that could be particularly valuable in end-of-life care. However, research on the perspectives of telemedicine-based services among family caregivers of patients with end-of-life cancer is limited. Therefore, this study aims to explore the perspectives and preferences of telemedicine-based services among family caregivers of patients with end-of-life cancer and provide a framework for developing and executing a tailored telemedicine-based end-of-life care program that addresses the unique needs of family caregivers in mainland China. Method A descriptive phenomenological approach was used. Family caregivers were selected using purposive sampling at a tertiary cancer hospital. One-on-one semi-structured interviews were conducted with the participants from November to December 2022. Colaizz’s method was used to analyze the interviews. Results Fourteen participants participated in interviews. Three themes and ten subthemes were identified: motivation to receive telemedicine services (relief from the burden of home care; access to professional health care services), supportive care needs for telemedicine services (support for symptom management; negative emotional adjustment; death education; daily life care guidance), and functional expectations of telemedicine service platforms (ease of use; real-time online guidance and response; personalized automatic reminder; targeted matching push of health knowledge). Conclusion Family caregivers expressed interest in telemedicine-based services and identified various care needs before receiving telemedicine services. The findings of this study can help policymakers and healthcare providers develop more effective and culturally appropriate telemedicine-based service programs that can better support family caregivers of end-of-life cancer patients.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12904-024-01347-0TelemedicineEnd of lifeFamily caregiverQualitative study |
| spellingShingle | Junchen Guo Xianghua Xu Chaoyi Liu Ying Wang Yongyi Chen Perspectives of telemedicine-based services among family caregivers of patients with end-of-life cancer: a qualitative study in mainland China BMC Palliative Care Telemedicine End of life Family caregiver Qualitative study |
| title | Perspectives of telemedicine-based services among family caregivers of patients with end-of-life cancer: a qualitative study in mainland China |
| title_full | Perspectives of telemedicine-based services among family caregivers of patients with end-of-life cancer: a qualitative study in mainland China |
| title_fullStr | Perspectives of telemedicine-based services among family caregivers of patients with end-of-life cancer: a qualitative study in mainland China |
| title_full_unstemmed | Perspectives of telemedicine-based services among family caregivers of patients with end-of-life cancer: a qualitative study in mainland China |
| title_short | Perspectives of telemedicine-based services among family caregivers of patients with end-of-life cancer: a qualitative study in mainland China |
| title_sort | perspectives of telemedicine based services among family caregivers of patients with end of life cancer a qualitative study in mainland china |
| topic | Telemedicine End of life Family caregiver Qualitative study |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12904-024-01347-0 |
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