Difficulties in caring for a patient with cancer at the end of life at home and complicated grief.

The present study aimed to investigate difficulties in caring for a patient with cancer at the end of life at home and to examine relationships between difficulties with care and complicated grief. The 45 bereaved family members completed the Family Difficulty Scale (FDS) and the Inventory of Complicated Grief (ICG). The FDS score for "Patient's pain and condition" was the highest, followed by "Caregivers did not want home care" and "No support from others." There was a significant relationship between FDS and ICG scores. These results suggest that the condition of the patient, the view of the caregiver on home care, and the absence of other support are important factors contributing to difficulties of family caregivers, and that these difficulties may lead to complicated grief.