Family Members’ Care Expectations, Care Perceptions, and Satisfaction with Advanced Cancer Care: Results of a Multi-Site Pilot Study

Abstract

Psychometric properties of assessment tools designed for use with English-speaking family members of advanced cancer patients in different care settings and different geographic locations were evaluated in this study. The robustness of the theoretical framework guiding the study and the factors identified with care satisfaction were also tested. Seventy-two family members drawn equally from medical hospital units, palliative care units, and home care programs in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba participated. Instruments used included the F-Care Expectations Scale, F-Care Perceptions Scale, FAMCARE Scale, and the General Functioning Scale of the Family Assessment Device. All four tools yielded acceptable reliability estimates. Discrepancy theory predicted family care satisfaction in a highly significant manner (p<0.0001). Family members of patients who had been diagnosed for longer than two years had more positive perceptions of palliative care than did family members of patients diagnosed for less than two years (p=0.05). Older family members reported better family functioning than younger family members (p<0.001). Spouses reported less discrepancy between care expectations and perceptions than did other relatives (p<0.05).