Abstract

The National Hospice and Palliative Care organization has identified that a majority of its estimated 1.43 million patients in 2016 were cared for by family members. Studies show that these family caregivers often suffer poor health outcomes if they do not receive enough social support during the grieving process following their family members' death. Attending group counseling sessions can provide social support if the family caregiver is willing to attend. The Transtheoretical Model (TTM) indicates changes in health behavior and can facilitate individuals to attend group counseling sessions. The purpose of this evidence-based practice project is to identify the level of social support among family caregivers who attend Hospice virtual group counseling sessions and to identify facilitators and barriers to attending these sessions. The Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) was developed specifically to measure perceived social support and was employed to measure this construct among family caregivers during the grieving process following their family members' death. No significant correlation between demographic variables and the measures of social support were measured. The qualitative findings indicated that the family caregivers were primarily in the helping relationships process of change.

Author Details

Katherine M. Hertzfeld, DNP, RN, NP-C

Sigma Membership

Zeta Theta at-Large

Type

DNP Capstone Project

Format Type

Text-based Document

Study Design/Type

Observational

Research Approach

Qualitative Research

Keywords:

Group Counseling, Social Support, Caregiver, Online Support, Hospice Support

Advisors

Topp, Robert||Reuille, Kristina||Sink, Katherine

Advisor

Robert Topp

Second Advisor

Kristina Reuille

Third Advisor

Katherine Sink

Degree

DNP

Degree Grantor

The University of Toledo

Degree Year

2020

Rights Holder

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All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository.

All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.

Review Type

Faculty Approved: Degree-based Submission

Acquisition

Self-submission

Date of Issue

2021-05-13

Full Text of Presentation

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