Preliminary Results of Caregiver Speaks: A Storytelling Intervention for Bereaved Family Caregivers

Abstract

When bereaved cancer caregivers have the opportunity to tell stories about their caregiving and bereavement journey, they are better able to make meaning of these experiences. Creating a space where they can share stories with other bereaved caregivers increases social validation, facilitates the meaning-making process, and reduces distress and risk for complicated grief. This study explored the feasibility and acceptability of an innovative storytelling intervention for bereaved family caregivers of cancer patients. Twenty-one participants engaged in the intervention, and eleven were interviewed about their experience. Results indicated study feasibility and intervention acceptability. Suggestions for future intervention were also provided.

Keywords:

• Cancer
• caregiving
• bereavement
• meaning-making
• storytelling

Acknowledgement

The content of this article is solely the responsibility of its authors and may not necessarily reflect the official views of the study’s funder.

Additional information

Funding

This study was funded by the National Cancer Institute [R01CA203999].

Notes on contributors

Abigail J. Rolbiecki

Dr. Abigail J. Rolbiecki is an Assistant Professor of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Missouri. Her work focuses the use of narrative interventions as a way to foster posttraumatic growth and meaning-making among the bereaved.

Debra Parker Oliver

Dr. Debra Parker Oliver is a Professor of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Missouri. Her work focuses on testing interventions to improve the hospice caregiving experience.

Karla Washington

Dr. Karla Washington is an Associate Professor of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Missouri. She studies behavioral interventions to support the psychosocial wellbeing of seriously ill patients and their families.

Jacquelyn J. Benson

Dr. Jacquelyn J. Benson is an Assistant Professor of Human Development and Family Science at the University of Missouri. Her work focuses on the family context of end-of-life caregiving and elucidating ways to improve family caregiving and bereavement experiences through social support interventions.

Lucas Jorgensen

Lucas Jorgensen is a program coordinator in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Missouri and a current student in the school’s Master of Public Health program.