Researching Emotional Distress and Help-Seeking for Distress in Families in Palliative Care Using Multi-Perspective Interviewing

Citation

Carolan C (2017) Researching Emotional Distress and Help-Seeking for Distress in Families in Palliative Care Using Multi-Perspective Interviewing. SAGE Research Methods Cases. London: Sage. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781526405425

Abstract
In 2011, I began my PhD, which sought to understand experiences of emotional distress and help-seeking for distress among families with one member in palliative care. Findings from the systematic review that I conducted during the early stages of my PhD supported conceptualization of distress in families as a systemic construct, meaning that distress in one family member has recursive and iterative impact(s) on another/others. However, the findings also revealed that research to date had primarily focused on the individual experience of the patient or the primary caregiver. Explanatory frameworks to inform our understanding of distress were limited, and there was a paucity of research informed by family systems theories.

Keywords
Focus groups