• Liv Betker, Alina Senßfelder, KnorrenschildJorge RieraJRDepartment of Medicine, Division of Hematology and Oncology, University Hospital of Giessen and Marburg (J.R.K.), Marburg, Germany., Christian Volberg, Daniel Berthold, Carola Seifart, and Pia von Blanckenburg.
• Department of Psychology, Division of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy (L.B., A.S., P.v.B.), Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany. Electronic address: liv.betker@uni-marburg.de.
• J Pain Symptom Manage. 2024 May 1; 67 (5): 420428420-428.

ContextDespite the potential benefits and the desire for end-of-life communication, it rarely occurs in the familial context. Relatives play a significant role in the communication process; thus, it is crucial to understand the difficulties that they face.ObjectivesTo develop and evaluate the relatives' version of the Difficulties in End-of-Life Discussions - Family Inventory (DEOLD-FI-r) regarding its factor structure, reliability and validity.MethodsRelatives of patients with advanced cancer were recruited in a German hospital. The factor structure of the questionnaire was explored. Construct validity was examined through correlations between the DEOLD-FI-r and measures of avoidance of cancer communication, quality of life, distress, and experienced difficulty during end-of-life discussions. Additionally, we examined the group difference between those who had and had not engaged in the conversation.ResultsAbout 111 relatives completed the survey (mean age 55.5 years, 52% female). The final version of the DEOLD-FI-r contained 23 items (α = .92). The exploratory factor analysis resulted in three factors explaining 74% of the variance. Each factor described another dimension of potential communication barriers in end-of-life discussions: 1) Own emotional burden, 2) Relational and patient-related difficulties, 3) Negative attitudes. Construct validity was supported by correlations consistent with our hypotheses and less reported communication difficulty by those who had already talked about the end-of-life with their relative (t(106) = 5.38, P < .001, d = 0.8).ConclusionThe results indicate that the DEOLD-FI-r is a valid and reliable instrument for the systematic assessment of difficulties in family end-of-life communication. By focusing on relatives, it complements the already validated patient-version.Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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