The burden of caregiving at the end-of-life.

Nonprofessional caregiving is crucial to effective end-of-life care for patients who wish to die at home. The burden of caregiving may lead to physical illness, emotional distress, financial hardship, and early mortality in the caregiver. Unmet caregiver needs have historically been poorly recognized and incompletely studied. Early recognition of caregiver distress, validation of the caregiver role, and effective communication by physicians may ease the burden of caregiving and help to secure a trusting partnership between the physician and the patient-caregiver unit at the end of life.