Oncology nursing forum
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To explore how family care-givers develop and respond to an awareness that their relative is dying. ⋯ Nurses need to identify processes to ensure that family caregivers' needs for information and support are given high priority and that supportive interventions identified are based on a sensitive understanding of the experience of the family caregiver. The processes may include assisting family caregivers to maintain hope, sustain social relationships, and make preparations for the death. Further research into how family caregivers use these strategies for managing their developing awareness of dying is required.