• HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
Tuesday, August 26, 2025
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News Health

Tension around autonomy increases family conflict at end of life

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
October 3, 2019
in Health
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram

MU researcher says communication, support and self-care are critical for caregivers to reduce distress

IMAGE

Credit: University of Missouri

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Conflict within families can be stressful and confusing, and it can lead to feelings of sadness. It also is incredibly common and in many cases, a necessary part of family dynamics. New research from the University of Missouri highlights how caregivers can better manage family conflict as they deal with the approaching death of a loved one.

Jacquelyn Benson, assistant professor of human development and family science, found that autonomy is a central tension in caregiving at the end of life. She suggests that several strategies, including communication, formal support and emotional self-care, can be used by caregivers to address family conflict.

“Conflict is stressful, we all know that,” Benson said. “However, it also is necessary and can lead to positive change. I hope these findings will inspire alternative ways to think about family conflict when it comes to end-of-life decision-making.”

Benson and her team analyzed data originally provided by caregiving participants of a clinical trial. They specifically looked at interviews from caregivers who were actively caring for a loved one in hospice care to study how the caregivers discussed conflict as it related to caregiving.

The central theme that emerged from the data was that of autonomy. Throughout the data, Benson found that struggles over who had control was a common feature in most of the conflicts and tensions the caregivers discussed.

One caregiver described this tension in simple terms, saying that her father’s insistence on remaining independent was “a burden.” When her father’s struggle to remain autonomous lessened, her caregiving burden eased. In another example, a caregiver caring for her spouse felt her husband’s brothers did not appreciate the severity of his health condition and the level of caregiving that he required, which led to tension when caregiving decisions were made.

“Our findings highlight how family conflict is experienced and managed by caregivers,” Benson said. “Avoiding conflict altogether is not the answer because it’s an unrealistic goal. Instead, caregivers should have conversations with hospice staff about ways they can improve their caregiving experience by communicating their needs and concerns with the person they are caring for and other family members.”

For example, although hospice staff and nurses might not witness overt conflict related to caregiving, they might witness caregiver reactions that are symptomatic of family conflict. Those observations can lead to conversations that will minimize psychological distress and minimize conflict.

“Accounts of family conflict in home care: the central role of autonomy for informal caregiver resilience,” was published in the Journal of Family Nursing. Other authors on the study were Debra Parker Oliver, and Karla Washington from MU and George Demiris from the University of Pennsylvania. This research was supported in part by the National Institute of Nursing.

###

Media Contact
Sheena Rice
[email protected]

Original Source

https://news.missouri.edu/2019/tension-around-autonomy-increases-family-conflict-at-end-of-life/

Tags: AgingDeath/DyingDemographyMental HealthSocial/Behavioral ScienceSupport Networks
Share12Tweet8Share2ShareShareShare2

Related Posts

Ficus Lyrata Bark: A Remedy for Fatty Liver

August 26, 2025

Predicting Therapy Outcomes for EGFR-Mutated NSCLC Patients

August 26, 2025

Revolutionizing Nepal’s Health: Past Challenges and Innovations

August 26, 2025

Seralutinib Shows Promise for Adult Pulmonary Hypertension

August 26, 2025
Please login to join discussion

POPULAR NEWS

  • blank

    Breakthrough in Computer Hardware Advances Solves Complex Optimization Challenges

    148 shares
    Share 59 Tweet 37
  • Molecules in Focus: Capturing the Timeless Dance of Particles

    142 shares
    Share 57 Tweet 36
  • New Drug Formulation Transforms Intravenous Treatments into Rapid Injections

    115 shares
    Share 46 Tweet 29
  • Neuropsychiatric Risks Linked to COVID-19 Revealed

    81 shares
    Share 32 Tweet 20

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Recent News

Ficus Lyrata Bark: A Remedy for Fatty Liver

Predicting Therapy Outcomes for EGFR-Mutated NSCLC Patients

Revolutionizing Nepal’s Health: Past Challenges and Innovations

  • Contact Us

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.