Emotional functioning during bereavement after the death of patients with advanced cancer and associated factors
Menée aux Pays-Bas par questionnaire auprès de 150 parents et proches de patients décédés d'un cancer de stade avancé, cette étude prospective longitudinale analyse les facteurs associés à leur état émotionnel pendant le deuil
Objective : The death of a loved one is considered to be the most stressful of all life events. However, the impact of bereavement on quality of life varies between individuals. The aim of our study was to assess emotional functioning, which is a domain of quality of life, of bereaved relatives after the death of their loved one and its associated factors. Method : A prospective, longitudinal, multicenter, observational study on quality of care and quality of life of patients with advanced cancer and their relatives was conducted (eQuiPe). The association between emotional functioning of relatives during bereavement and the following factors was investigated: gender, type of relationship, educational level, pre-bereavement emotional and social functioning and global quality of life, social support pre- and during bereavement, anticipatory complicated grief, support of healthcare professionals during bereavement, age of patient and bereaved relative and duration of survival after primary cancer diagnosis. Results : 150 bereaved relatives completed the bereavement questionnaire. In 41% of the bereaved relatives emotional functioning was ≤71, indicating clinically relevant low emotional functioning. Multivariable logistic regression showed that females experienced more often emotional problems (OR=2.82). Emotional functioning pre-bereavement (OR=0.96) and social support during bereavement (OR=0.97) were associated with low emotional functioning during bereavement. Conclusions : Almost half of the bereaved relatives of patients with advanced cancer experienced low emotional functioning and this was associated with low emotional functioning pre-bereavement and low social support during bereavement. Support for relatives should be initiated before the patient’s death. Future research is needed to investigate the impact of such support on relatives’ wellbeing during bereavement.
Psycho-Oncology 2022