Demographic and clinical predictors of preparatory grief in a sample of advanced cancer patients.

Background: Preparatory grief encompasses grief for losses that have already occurred, are currently being experienced, and losses that will or might ensue in the future after the death, as a consequence of it.

Aim: To examine the relative contribution of demographic and clinical variables in predicting cancer patients' preparatory grief as recorded from the Preparatory Grief in Advanced Cancer Patients (PGAC) scale. Moreover, researchers were interested in determining whether these dimensions were independently and uniquely associated with preparatory grief.

Methods: Two hundred advanced cancer patients treated in a Pain Relief and Palliative Care Unit completed the PGAC scale, while researchers recorded data on demographic characteristics, disease status and treatment regimen.

Results: The analyses showed that the most significant correlations were found between preparatory grief and age (r = -0.227, p = 0.001), gender (p = 0.006), family status (p = 0.019), performance status (p = 0.010), surgery (p = 0.029), opioids (p = 0.019), and diagnosis (p = 0.038). In the prediction of preparatory grief, the contribution of age, performance status, history of other surgery, gender and opioids is high.

Conclusions: Awareness of the specific patients' demographic and medical characteristics, such as old age, poor performance status, history of other surgery, female gender, and strong opioids, contribute to the prediction of patients' preparatory grief.