Carers' Experiences of End-of-Life Care: A Scoping Review and Application of Personal Construct Psychology

Individuals who care for a family member or friend at end-of-life experience a range of practical and emotional challenges. This paper applies a theoretical framework of personal construct psychology (PCP) to explore carers' experiences of end-of-life care, with a focus on implications for thei...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Australian psychologist 2017-10, Vol.52 (5), p.372-380
Main Author: Broady, Timothy R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Activities of daily living
Bargaining
Bereavement
Caregivers
Caregiving
carers
Death & dying
Emotions
End of life decisions
end-of-life
Identity
Literature reviews
Palliative care
personal construct psychology
threat
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Summary:Individuals who care for a family member or friend at end-of-life experience a range of practical and emotional challenges. This paper applies a theoretical framework of personal construct psychology (PCP) to explore carers' experiences of end-of-life care, with a focus on implications for their sense of identity. Literature searches were conducted through PsycINFO, Medline, PubMed, and Google Scholar for articles published since 2005 with a focus on carer experiences at end-of-life. Main themes identified through this literature review were considered in light of PCP theory, with particular attention on the notion of "threat" (i.e., an imminent and comprehensive change in a person's core identity structure). Implications were then drawn for providing practical carer support. The reviewed literature highlighted carers' practical challenges at end-of-life (e.g., assisting with activities of daily living), emotional challenges (e.g., negotiating the imminent death of a family member or friend), and personal implications (e.g., sudden removal of caring responsibilities). The constructivist notion of "threat" is a particularly salient concept for end-of-life carers as they negotiate the approaching death of a family member or friend. This can have significant ramifications for their sense of identity beyond bereavement. Clinical approaches based on PCP may effectively support end-of-life carers to develop identities beyond their caring role as they transition to a life without caring responsibilities.
ISSN:0005-0067
1742-9544
DOI:10.1111/ap.12278