Conveying empathy to hospice family caregivers: Team responses to caregiver empathic communication

ObjectiveThe goal of this study was to explore empathic communication opportunities presented by family caregivers and responses from interdisciplinary hospice team members.MethodsEmpathic opportunities and hospice team responses were analyzed from bi-weekly web-based videoconferences between family caregivers and hospice teams. The authors coded the data using the Empathic Communication Coding System (ECCS) and identified themes within and among the coded data.ResultsData analysis identified 270 empathic opportunity-team response sequences. Caregivers expressed statements of emotion and decline most frequently. Two-thirds of the hospice team responses were implicit acknowledgments of caregiver statements and only one-third of the team responses were explicit recognitions of caregiver empathic opportunities.ConclusionAlthough hospice team members frequently express emotional concerns with family caregivers during one-on-one visits, there is a need for more empathic communication during team meetings that involve caregivers.Practice implicationsHospice clinicians should devote more time to discussing emotional issues with patients and their families to enhance patient-centered hospice care. Further consideration should be given to training clinicians to empathize with patients and family caregivers.