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Communication in the Context of the Family System in Palliative Care from a Social Worker's Perspective - a Review of English Language Studies
ANDERSSONOVÁ, Tereza
Since the Czech literature does not describe the changes or the course of communication within the family in the situation of dying of one of their members, I realized this literature review in which I formulated the following objectives: 1) to identify the topics of communication in the English-language foreign literature, 2) to describe the content of the identified topics and 3) to draw possible implications for Czech palliative care and further research on this topic. To achieve the objectives, I used the methodology of a good enough literature review. Based on criteria indicating the focus of the thesis on communication in the family in the situation of dying of one of their members, I searched the EBSCO database for 492 articles. Of these, 37 articles were selected for review after the application of the inclusion criteria. The findings can be summarized by stating that despite the relatively small number of research studies, they describe both the areas and characteristics of communication, the factors and roles that influence communication, and the effects of such communication (reduced anxiety, depression, and less complicated grieving in the aftermath of a member's death). It is in this identification of themes and their content that the main contribution of the thesis lies. In particular, I consider the findings related to the chronemic pressure that emerges as the death became significant, with the influence of not only non-specific factors (the rules of communication in the family before the announcement of the fatal diagnosis), but also specific ones (such as cultural influences of the relationship to death, or pseudo-motherhood - the tendency to take over activity and control for the dying person, or fear/uncertainty about discussion related to spirituality). For palliative social work in the Czech Republic, the text may be particularly useful concerning the identified areas of communication as well as factors that may influence communication.
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