Differential Effects of an Integrated Community-Based End-Of-Life Support Team (ICEST) Model for Terminally Ill Older Adults on Spousal and Adult-Children Caregivers

Backgrounds: Family caregivers (FCs) play an essential role in delivering home-based end-of-life care. However, little is known about FCs'' experiences when undertaking this role. The integrated community end-of-life support team (ICEST) is a needs-driven, home-based, family-centered care model in Hong Kong. We evaluated its effects on FCs and compared outcomes for spouses and adult children. Method: A multicenter pre-post-test study was conducted. Eligible participants were primary FCs of terminally ill older adults (age ≥ 60) who had a life expectancy of ≤12 months. Baseline (T₀) and three-month post-intervention (T₁) outcome measures included FCs'' caregiving strain, psychological distress, perceived external support, intimate relationships, and communications regarding care planning. Results: A sample of 628 FCs were enrolled at T_0, and 40.0% completed the T₁ assessments. The ICEST model was effective in reducing caregiving strain, depression, and worries about patients, whilst there were improvements in agreement about care planning with patients, and perceived external supports. At T₀, spouses held more negative perceptions of caregiving and faced fewer adjustment demands than adult children. Compared with spouses, adult children were more intimate with patients. Between T₀ and T₁, spouses experienced a greater reduction in worries about patients, than adult children. Conclusions: The ICEST model contributed to better outcomes, individually and relationally, for FCs, regardless of relationship type. Spouses and adult children faced different challenges while delivering home-based end-of-life care. Effective interventions should modify the negative perceptions of caregiving in spousal caregivers and enable adult children to deal with multiple tasks and complex expectations.