| Summary: | The aim of this study is to assess the factors that can influence the capability of a family to take care of an oncology patient in Palliative Care. It is a broad, qualitative and observational study, backed by the Grounded Theory and using the Focus Group technique. Meetings, separated into 2 focal groups, were held in the period from January to August 2009, with 13 relatives of patients with incurable cancer and progressive disease, who were being cared for in a Palliative Care Unit of an oncology hospital in northern Portugal. By analyzing the focal groups transcripts, 4 axes that carry factors (categories) that may condition the ability to be a caregiver could be identified: The practical axis (admission, technical assistance, social/health resources, palliative care, psychological support, relocation, home expenses), the relational axis (bonds, loss, privacy, intimacy, support to the caregiver, sharing), the internal experience axis (feelings, coping strategies, affection, suffering, death, psychological support), and the health condition axis (recovering, symptoms, information about the illness, vulnerability of the caregiver). A list of the identified indicators is of help in the holistic evaluation of the family, by enabling an early detection of traits that may be of risk to their caring capacity, determining the continuity of the palliative care and/or a possible discharge.
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