Caregivers' perspectives on family meetings and preparedness for imminent death: A qualitative descriptive study in a palliative care setting.

BACKGROUND

Family caregivers often feel unprepared for the final phase of life, which is associated with distress and adverse bereavement outcomes. Structured family meetings are recommended, yet evidence from Middle-Eastern settings is limited.

AIM: To explore how routine family meetings influence caregiver preparedness and communication when patient is judged to be approaching death in Saudi palliative care service.

DESIGN

Qualitative descriptive study using semi-structured interviews. Data were analysed using grounded theory analytic techniques.

SETTING/

PARTICIPANTS

A tertiary palliative care unit in Saudi Arabia. Seven family caregivers of imminently dying patients with cancer were interviewed in Arabic within 2-5 days after attending a protocol-mandated family meeting.

RESULTS

Six themes were identified to describe the meetings' impact. Psychological relief: clear prognostic information reduced uncertainty and anxiety. Emotional burden: anticipatory grief was substantial despite valuing honesty. Communication style: direct, compassionate disclosure and stepwise foreshadowing aided understanding and acceptance. Religious framing: alignment with Islamic beliefs provided meaning and guided spiritually oriented bedside care. Caregiver support, including multiple relatives who distributed the emotional load, improved intra-family communication. Practical care guidance: specific advice on recognising signs of dying and interacting with unresponsive patients increased caregiving confidence and reduced crises.

CONCLUSIONS

Caregivers in a middle eastern setting found routine, empathetic, and culturally sensitive family meetings helpful in supporting informational, emotional, spiritual, and practical needs during end-of-life. They valued clear communication, culturally sensitive religious framing, and practical guidance about dying. These findings suggest that structured family meetings can support caregivers and highlight areas for further research and development in family-centred end-of-life care.