Author(s)

Kanako Amano^1,2*, Kanako Ichikura³, Kazuho Hisamura⁴, Hiroki Sakurai^5,6, Ryota Yanaizumi⁷, Saori Takahashi⁸, Yuko Shimizu², Kazuhiro Kawada⁹, Osamu Takahashi², Eisuke Matsushima¹, Takashi Takeuchi¹, Hidehiko Takahashi¹⁰

¹Liaison Psychiatry and Psycho-oncology Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan.
²Palliative Care Ward, Heiwa Hospital, Yokohama, Japan.
³Department of Health Science, Kitasato University School of Allied Health Sciences, Sagamihara, Japan.
⁴Department of Medical Oncology, Kanazawa Medical University, Ishikawa, Japan.
⁵Department of Palliative Medicine, Toranomon Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.
⁶Department of Palliative Care, Cancer Institute Hospital of Japanese Foundation for Cancer Research (JFCR), Tokyo, Japan.
⁷Department of Anesthesiology, Yokohama City University Medical Center, Yokohama, Japan.
⁸Department of Anesthesiology, Seirei Yokohama Hospital, Yokohama, Japan.
⁹Yuu Home Care Clinic, Yokohama, Japan.
¹⁰Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental Uni-versity, Tokyo, Japan.

Background: Medical staff provide care to spouses of terminal cancer patients through trial and error by meeting their various support needs and spousal factors regarding their anticipatory grief. Studies on the association between spousal characteristics and anticipatory grief have been inconclusive; additionally, there has been insufficient research on support needs for anticipatory grief of spouses. This study aimed to explore the spousal characteristics and social support needs predicting anticipatory grief in spouses of patients with cancer at the end of life. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study. Eligible spouses (n = 102) completed a self-report questionnaire in two hospitals with palliative care units in Japan. The questionnaire included demographic information, a tool assessing social support needs of spouses, and the Anticipatory Grief Scale for Family Caregivers. Results: Simple regression analyses indicated that patient age, chemotherapy, no treatment, ECOG PS3, children aged under 20 years, total score of “social support needs regarding the disease and treatment of the patients” and subscale scores (“medical condition and cure,” “daily life and social support,” and “intimacy and employment”), and total score of “social support needs of the spouses” and subscale scores (“family psychological issues and social support” and “intimacy, employment, and society”) were significant variables (all p < 0.05) for the multiple regression analysis. Multiple regression analyses revealed that “chemotherapy” and “social support needs of the spouses” in Model 1, and “family psychological issues and social support” in Model 2 significantly predicted anticipatory grief (all p < 0.05). Conclusions: Patients having no experience of “chemotherapy” and higher “social support needs of the spouses” in Model 1, and greater spousal needs of “family psychological issues and social support” in Model 2 were significant predictors of severe anticipatory grief. Medical staff should pay attention to these risk factors that predict anticipatory grief among spouses.

Cancer, Spouse, Spousal Characteristics, Social Support Needs, Anticipatory Grief

Amano, K. , Ichikura, K. , Hisamura, K. , Sakurai, H. , Yanaizumi, R. , Takahashi, S. , Shimizu, Y. , Kawada, K. , Takahashi, O. , Matsushima, E. , Takeuchi, T. and Takahashi, H. (2022) Characteristics and Social Support Needs Predicting Anticipatory Grief in the Spouses of Patients with Cancer at the End of Life. International Journal of Clinical Medicine, 13, 98-120. doi: 10.4236/ijcm.2022.133009.