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Educational Programs for Family Caregivers in Palliative Care: A Literature Review

Carla Reigada, José Luís Pais-Ribeiro and Ana Novellas

Aim: To analyse the literature about educational programs aimed towards empowering caregivers of patients in palliative care (PC) attending to the conceptual difference between programs and psychosocial interventions. Method: Review of the literature published in English, Portuguese and Spanish languages between 01/2009 and 12/2013, supported by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines; PubMed, Scopus and SciELO were searched for studies about caregiver training programs developed in the PC field. 43 Palliative Care Associations listed in the European Association of Palliative Care (EAPC) PC ATLAS were contacted in order to complement this literature review. Results: Eight studies were identified and analysed concerning subject matter, measurement instruments, location, results, strategy and duration of the programs. All educational programs addressed issues related to the context of end of life; Program duration ranged from three weeks to two years, and took place in the community and in hospital or PC centres; all programs evaluated their respective impact using various measurement instruments. Conclusions: This review testifies the lack of publications regarding programs designed and developed to support family caregivers in PC. It is shown that caregivers benefit from support groups and educational programs to promote information and caregiver training, but perhaps the lack of funding for this kind of interventions can affect the caregiver’s treatment.