Gender Differences in Caregiving at End of Life: Implications for Hospice Teams

Washington, Karla T.; Pike, Kenneth C.; Demiris, George; Oliver, Debra Parker; Albright, David L.; Lewis, Alexandra

doi:10.1089/jpm.2015.0214

Cited by 33 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Indeed, compared to male family caregivers, female family caregivers of patients with COPD reported a higher prevalence of increased symptoms of anxiety and depression 10. This is in line with findings in female family caregivers of patients from the general population, hospice patients, and patients with cancer 11–13. These female caregivers, compared to male caregivers, have more difficulty with balancing informal caregiving with other (family and employment) responsibilities, suffer from poorer emotional health,11 and appear to be more distressed 12.…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 72%

“…Especially in case of female partners, attention should be paid to coping styles, symptoms of anxiety, and health status. We should also be aware of the social expectations of the idea that women act as “natural” caregivers 13. Because the feeling that caregiving is an assumed responsibility instead of a choice could affect the reaction to caregiving 13.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We should also be aware of the social expectations of the idea that women act as “natural” caregivers 13. Because the feeling that caregiving is an assumed responsibility instead of a choice could affect the reaction to caregiving 13. For instance, when the social environment view the female caregiver as naturally better at caregiving, they might be less likely to perceive support as being needed, thus less likely to offer it.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These female caregivers, compared to male caregivers, have more difficulty with balancing informal caregiving with other (family and employment) responsibilities, suffer from poorer emotional health,11 and appear to be more distressed 12. Moreover, they show a more negative impact on their daily activities, health, and family support13 compared to men. It seems that males’ distress is related to their own health condition and not to the health condition of their female patient partner, while this is different in women 14.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

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Gender differences in partners of patients with COPD and their perceptions about the patients

Nakken

Janssen

Vliet

et al. 2016

COPD

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Background/objectivesChronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) not only affects patients but also their partners. Gender-related differences in patients with COPD are known, for instance regarding symptoms and quality of life. Yet, research regarding gender differences in partners of patients with COPD has been conducted to a lesser extent, and most research focused on female partners. We aimed to investigate differences between male and female partners of patients with COPD regarding their own characteristics and their perceptions of patients’ characteristics.DesignCross-sectional study.SettingFour hospitals in the Netherlands.ParticipantsOne hundred and eighty-eight patient–partner couples were included in this cross-sectional study.MeasurementsGeneral and clinical characteristics, health status, care dependency, symptoms of anxiety and depression, social support, caregiver burden, and coping styles were assessed during a home visit.ResultsFemale partners had more symptoms of anxiety and a worse health status than male partners. Social support and caregiver burden were comparable, but coping styles differed between male and female partners. Female partners thought that male patients were less care dependent and had more symptoms of depression, while these gender differences did not exist in patients themselves.ConclusionHealth care providers should pay attention to the needs of all partners of patients with COPD, but female partners in particular. Obtaining an extensive overview of the patient–partner couple, including coping styles, health status, symptoms of anxiety, and caregiver burden, is necessary to be able to support the couple as effectively as possible.

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 72%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

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Gender differences in partners of patients with COPD and their perceptions about the patients

Nakken

Janssen

Vliet

et al. 2016

COPD

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“…Anecdotally, death doulas may be working in a similar way to that of "an eldest daughter'. We know that historically "modern-day family care-giving responsibilities fall disproportionately on women" (Washington et al, 2015, p. 1049) (McGhan, Loeb, Baney, & Penrod, 2013 and death doulas may fulfil this role in the absence of a family member. It should be acknowledged though, that not all caregivers are women as not all death doulas are women.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

What role do Death Doulas play in end‐of‐life care? A systematic review

Rawlings

Tieman

Miller-Lewis

et al. 2018

Health Soc Care Community

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Current health and social care systems do not always meet the needs of the dying in our communities. As a result, patients and families are choosing to place their trust in those who can advocate for them or fill the gaps in care. Birth Doulas have been working with women during pregnancy and after birth for many years, and we are now seeing a new role, that of a Death Doula emerging in the end‐of‐life care space. How Death Doulas work within health and social care systems is not understood and we conducted a systematic review to explore the published literature to explore the role and potential implications for models of care delivery. Following the PRISMA recommendations, we searched the literature in January 2018 via bibliographic databases and the grey literature without search date parameters to capture all published literature. We looked for articles that describe the role/work of a death doula or a death midwife in the context of end‐of‐life care, or death and dying. Our search retrieved 162 unique records of which five papers were included. We analysed the papers in relation to relationship to health service, funding source, number and demand for services, training, licensing and ongoing support, and tasks undertaken. Death Doulas are working with people at the end of life in varied roles that are still little understood, and can be described as similar to that of “an eldest daughter” or to a role that has similarities to specialist palliative care nurses. Death doulas may represent a new direction for personalised care directly controlled by the dying person, an adjunct to existing services, or an unregulated form of care provision without governing oversight.

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