Table 1 Characteristics of studies included in the meta-synthesis
Author (year) | Country of study | Setting/ Sample | Focus of interest | Method/ Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Berterö et al. (2008) | Sweden | 23 persons with palliative care needs | Persons with palliative care needs’ experiences of receiving a diagnosis of an inoperable lung cancer and its impact on their life situation and quality of life | Interviews/ interpretive phenomenology |
Brajtman (2003) | Israel | 26 family members 6 hospice staff | Family members’ experiences, needs and feelings of terminal restlessness | Focus groups and interviews/ Phenomenological approach |
Carlander et al. (2011) | Sweden | 10 informal caregivers | Informal caregivers’ perceptions of situations in daily life that are challenging their self-image when caring for a person with palliative care needs | Interview/ interpretive description approach |
Clemmer et al. (2008) | Canada | 4 informal caregivers | Family members’ experiences of roles while providing home-based palliative care | Secondary analysis of in-depth interviews/ ethnographic approach |
Duggleby et al. (2010) | Canada | 6 persons with palliative care needs, 10 informal caregivers, 12 health care professionals | Persons with palliative care needs’ and informal caregivers’ experiences of transitions when receiving palliative home care | Focus groups and open-ended interviews/ Grounded theory approach |
Groot et al. (2007) | Netherlands | 1 person with palliative care needs and 1 family member | Experiences of a married couple in a palliative situation | In-depth interview / Systematic content analysis |
Harding & Higginson (2001) | England (UK) | 14 current and 4 bereaved informal caregivers | Informal caregivers’ perceptions of obstacles in the process of accessing appropriate support and during provision of targeted interventions | Semi-structured interviews/ analytical methods of Grounded Theory |
Hebert et al. (2009) | USA | 33 informal caregivers of terminally ill patients | Informal caregivers’ perceptions of factors that they believe are important to prepare for death and bereavement | Focus groups and ethnographic interviews/ constant comparative method |
Holtslander et al. (2005) | Canada | 10 informal caregivers | Informal caregivers’ experiences of hope | Open-ended interviews/ Grounded Theory approach |
Olsson et al. (2011) | Sweden | 11 persons with palliative care needs | Persons with palliative care needs’ experiences of hope | Interviews, diaries and questionnaires/ Grounded Theory approach |
Sand et al. (2009) | Sweden | 20 persons with palliative care needs | Persons with palliative care needs’ coping strategies in the presence of their own impending death | In-depth interviews/ hermeneutic interpretative method |
Steinvall et al. (2011) | Sweden | 11 family members | Family members’ experiences of quality of life and their life situation with persons with palliative care needs | Interviews/ phenomenological approach |
Sutherland (2009) | Canada | 8 female family members | Family members’ perceptions of transitions at the end of life | Interviews/ phenomenological approach |
Syrén et al. (2006) | Sweden | 5 families | Families’ perceptions of being a family when one family member is terminally ill | Narrative interviews/ phenomenological approach |