Family members' experiences, information needs and information seeking in relation to living with a patient with oesophageal cancer.

A qualitative study was conducted with the aim to describe family members' experiences, information needs and information seeking in relation to living with a patient suffering from oesophageal cancer. Data were collected by means of semi-structured interviews with nine family members. A content analysis was used in order to organize data. It was found that family members were not aware of the severe diagnosis and the illness caused intrusions on the family. The time following diagnosis family members' information seeking was low. They used interpersonal as well as mass media sources to obtain knowledge about and handle the uncertainty related to the illness. Some family members did not actively seek information. In conclusion, healthcare professionals are expected to improve quality of cancer care. These improvements are unlikely to occur without an understanding of family members' needs. This study shows that the family members were unprepared of receiving a diagnosis of oesophageal cancer. They emphasized the importance of including the children in the care given. Moreover, the whole family was faced with uncertainty, which led to intrusion on everyday life. Therefore, family members used different strategies for managing the uncertainty, whereof one was searching for information. The primary source of information was the physician.