Family Caregiver Communication Model
Choosing the right support for family caregivers depends on the family system and how it affects the caregiver.
Our research found four main types of caregiver communication: manager, carrier, partner, and lone.
Each type shows different ways family members communicate. This means healthcare providers should tailor their communication and support to fit each caregiver’s style and needs.
Additional Resources
Family Caregiver Communication Tool
Specialized towards chronic illnesses, the FCCT-CI scale, with tested and published reliability and validity, offers a brief, 10-item communication assessment for family caregivers of those living with chronic illness. Intended audiences include but are not limited to cancer caregiver and palliative care contexts. Care providers can use this tool to assess, design, and test interventions to support family caregivers.
Family Caregiver Communication Tool
The FCCT is a valid and reliable instrument for obtaining information about the frequency, range, and congruence of communication within the patient’s family. Focused towards cancer patients, it is composed of two subscales: conversation and conformity. The FCCT is a 10-item instrument completed by the primary family caregiver about their communication with family about the patient’s illness and values and beliefs about caregiving. The purpose of FCCT is to conclude a specific caregiver type.
Based on the principles of the COMFORT™ communication curriculum, this guide supports family members of cancer patients, addressing how to communicate with the patient, other family members, family members who are far away, and health care providers. It contains practical examples and words of advice to aid family caregivers in their loved one’s cancer journey. The guide is written at the sixth grade level. It has been tested among family caregivers and was found to be readable, relatable, and easy to understand. Caregivers expressed a need for this material and a desire to have it earlier in the illness course.
Wittenberg, E., Goldsmith, J., Ferrell, B., & Ragan, S. L. (2016). Promoting Improved Family Caregiver Health Literacy: Evaluation of Caregiver Communication Resources. Psycho-Oncology. NIHMSID: 766734