Support expected by employees of palliative care in the context of the sense of loss after the death of patients

The aim of the study is the analysis of individual demand for the support of palliative care workers after the death of patients. The care of the petients int the end of their lives is a difficult, cost-building situation. Developing close relationships in the course of care results in certain emotional, cognitive and behavioural-somatic responses experienced by employees after the death of the patients. Working with the dying, without a doubt, requires the support of professional caregivers. The research deals with the experience of the patients with cancer as well as their families. To a lesser extent the science related to palliative care and psychoonkology seem to deal with the issues of professional caregivers.

Material and methods: The researched were 130 health and non-medical professionals from 9 palliative care centres. The methods used in research were the author’s tools: The Expected Support Questionnaire (ESQ) and The Grief Questionnaire (SLQ), standardized and normalized (the integrity of the test: SLQ – 0.84; for ESQ – 0.88; accuracy test SLQ – 0.92; for ESQ – 0.94). Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient was used in calculations. The research results: the employees of palliative care in the context of the experienced reactions after the death of patients indicate the individual demand for support in emotional, informational, and instrumental areas to a statistically significant degree. It means that they expect appreciation for and promotion at work, information on training and opportunities for exchange of experiences, as well as instructing on how to modify their behaviour at work.