PREDICTORS OF FAMILY ANXIETY IN THE WEEKS BEFORE BEREAVEMENT

There has been little research to date on the factors which predict hi gh anxiety in family members or carers before bereavement. Our study u sed data on 302 patients for whom the family's anxiety had been record ed by cancer palliative care teams in the last weeks of the patient's life. Variables known at the time of the patient's referral to the tea ms were entered into a discriminant analysis. A predictive function wi th a sensitivity of 0.75 and a specificity of 0.51 identified those fa milies whose anxiety was rated as severe (3-4 on a scale of 0-4) durin g the month before the patient's death. Important predictors were: whe ther the family member was a spouse, a diagnosis of breast cancer, you ng age, the time from diagnosis and low patient mobility. There was a small significant correlation between a longer time in palliative care and lower family anxiety. The predictive model could be used by oncol ogists to identify cases where greater psychological support will be n eeded. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd.