American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine®

 

Advanced Search

Journal Navigation

Journal Home

Subscriptions

Archive

Contact Us

Table of Contents

Click here for free access to the SAGE eReference platform!

Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow References
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Rokach, A.
Right arrow Articles by Bercovitch, M.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Rokach, A.
Right arrow Articles by Bercovitch, M.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati  
What's this?
American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine®, Vol. 24, No. 5, 399-407 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/1049909107305652

The Dying, Those Who Care for Them, and How They Cope With Loneliness

Ami Rokach, PhD

Institute For the Study and Treatment oF Psychosocial Stress, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, arokach{at}yorku.ca

Raan Matalon

Institute For the Study and Treatment oF Psychosocial Stress, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Artem SaFarov, BS

Institute For the Study and Treatment oF Psychosocial Stress, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Michaela Bercovitch, MD

Palliative Care Department, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Aviv University, Israel

This study compares the manner in which the dying, their caregivers, and the general population cope with loneliness. The patients were recruited in an oncological hospice in Israel and, despite being on their deathbed, agreed to participate. Thirty-seven cancer-stricken patients, 78 caregivers, and 128 participants From the general population volunteered to take part. The participants anonymously answered a 34-item questionnaire and were asked to endorse those items that described their strategies oF successFully coping with loneliness. Results suggested the dying patient, his or her caregiver, and the general population cope with loneliness diFFerently. Dying patients scored signiFicantly lower than the general population on the social support network and increased activity sub-scales, with a reversed trend For religion and Faith. This may be the First study to examine the manner in which the dying and their caregivers cope with loneliness. Thus, more research is needed to replicate the study using larger samples.

Key Words: loneliness • coping • hospice • caregivers • oncology • hospitalization


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati    What's this?