Authors

Cinta Palomar Gallardo, Dolores Merino Navarro, Angustias González Rodríguez

Position

Profesoras de la Escuela de Enfermería de la Universidad de Huelva.

Contact address

Escuela de Enfermería. Ctra. de Sevilla, s/n. Apartado 1068. 21007 Huelva.

Contact email: cinta.palomar@denf.uhu.es

Abstract

Bereavement is universal, as it is death; it is a life process that we will all probably go through. We know that it helps people mature and that it stimulates their creative abilities, but nothing is more harmful than a non resolved bereavement, and that is what makes the nursing intervention necessary.
Objective: To evaluate the bereavement of the main caregivers.
Material and methods: An in-depth rough interview was conducted which involved twelve main caregivers. The two selection approaches were: time elapsed from the death and that the patient under the care of the caregiver was diagnosed of cancer and received home care.
Results: During the interviews we observed defence mechanisms in the main caregivers and feelings of guilt and blame, indicative of a non resolved bereavement situation.. Indicative manifestations of resolved bereavement were also obtained.
Conclusions: The dysfunctional bereavement is a present diagnosis that appears quite often among the main caregivers.

Keywords:

Bereavement; death; main caregivershome care

Versión en Español

Título:

El duelo de los cuidadores principales de pacientes oncológicos atendidos en domicilio