A prerequisite for the staff to be able to guide relatives through the dying trajectory is that the staff members know what the relative wants and can do. The aim of this study was threefold: (a) to identify and categorize family members’involvement in the care of a dying relative, (b) to develop a theoretical understanding of their involvement, and (c) to discuss the congruence or incongruence between the empirical results and key concepts in Swanson’s and Watson’s theories of caring. The results show that the relatives’involvement could be classified into three categories: to know, to be, and to do. Good correspondence was found between these three categories and key concepts in Swanson’s and Watson’s theories of caring.
Andershed, B. , & Ternestedt, B.-M. (1998a). The illness trajectory—For patients with cancer who died in two different cultures of care. Omega: Journal of Dying and Death, 37(4), 249-270.
2.
Andershed, B. , & Ternestedt, B.-M. (1998b). Involvement of relatives in the care of the dying in different care cultures. Involvement in the dark or in the light?Cancer Nursing, 21(2), 106-116.
3.
Biegel, D. E. , Sales, E., & Schulz, R. (1991). Family caregiving in chronic illness. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
4.
Cassileth, B. R. , & Steinfeld A. D. (1987). Psychological preparation of the patient and family. Cancer, 60, 547-552.
5.
Foster, L. W. (1987). Hospice care: Art and science evaluating primary caregiver perceptions. Hospice Journal, 3, 31-45.
6.
Gates, M. F. (1991). Culture care theory for study of dying patients in hospital and hospice contexts. In M. M. Leininger (Ed.), Culture care diversity and universality: A theory of nursing. New York: National League for Nursing Press.
7.
Glaser, B. G. , & Strauss, A. L. (1965). Awareness of dying. New York: Aldine.
8.
Glaser, B. G. , & Strauss, A. L. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research. New York: Aldine de Gruyter.
9.
Gustafson, W. (1988). Motivational and historical aspects of care and nursing. In M. M. Leininger (Ed.), Care the essence of nursing and health. Detroit: Wayne State University Press.
10.
Halldorsdottir, S. , & Hamrin, E. (1996). Experiencing existential changes: The lived experience of having cancer. Cancer Nursing, 19, 29-36.
11.
Higginson, I. , Wade, A., & McCarthy, M. (1990). Palliative care: Views of patients and their families. British Medical Journal, 301, 277-281.
12.
Hull, M. M. (1989). Family needs and supportive nursing behaviors during terminal cancer: A review. Oncology Nursing Forum, 16, 787-792.
13.
Johansson, L. (1991). Caring for the next of kin: On informal care of the elderly in Sweden. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
14.
Kristjanson, L. J. , & Ashcroft, T. (1994). The family’s cancer journey: A literature review. Cancer Nursing, 17, 1-17.
15.
Leininger, M. M. (1978). Transcultural nursing: Concepts, theories, and practice. New York: John Wiley.
16.
Leininger, M. M. (1981). The phenomenon of caring: Importance, research questions and theoretical considerations. In M. M. Leininger (Ed.), Caring an essential human need: Proceedings of the three national caring conferences. Thorofare, NJ: Charles B. Slack.
17.
Leininger, M. M. (1988). Care: The essence of nursing and health. In M. M. Leininger (Ed.), Care the essence of nursing and health. Detroit: Wayne State University Press.
18.
Leininger, M. M. (1991). Culture care diversity and universality: A theory of nursing. New York: National League for Nursing Press.
19.
Martens, N. , & Davies, B. (1990). The work of patients and spouses in managing advanced cancer at home. Hospice Journal, 6, 55-73.
20.
Radsma, J. (1994). Caring and nursing: A dilemma. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 20, 444-449.
21.
Reverby, S. (1987). A caring dilemma: Womanhood and nursing in historical perspective. Nursing Research, 36, 5-11.
22.
Statens offentliga utredningar (SOU) . (1996). Behov av resurser i vården—en analys. Delbetänkande av HSU 2000 [Need of resources in care-an analysis at the prospect of 2000]. Stockholm: Author.
23.
Swanson, K. M. (1991). Empirical development of a middle range theory of caring. Nursing Research, 40, 161-166.
24.
Swanson, K. M. (1993). Nursing as in-formed caring for the well-being of others. IMAGE: Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 25, 352-357.
25.
Tringali, C. A. (1986). The needs of family members of cancer patients. Oncology Nursing Forum, 13, 65-70.
26.
Watson, J. (1985). Nursing: The philosophy and science of caring. Boulder: Colorado Associated University Press.
27.
Watson, J. (1988a). New dimensions of human caring theory. Nursing Science Quarterly, 1, 175-181.
28.
Watson J. (1988b). Nursing: Human Science and human care. A theory of nursing. Boulder: Colorado Associated University Press.
29.
Watson, J. (1989). Watson’s philosophy and theory of human caring in nursing. In J. P. Riehl-Sisca (Ed.), Conceptual models for nursing practice. Norwalk, CT: Appleton & Lange.
30.
Watson, J. (1997). The theory of human caring: Retrospective and prospective. Nursing Science Quarterly, 10, 49-52.
31.
Weisman, A. (1988). Appropriate death and the hospice program. Hospice Journal, 4, 65-77.
