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of social support: on the one hand, they are acting primarily as the donor of support to the person
for whom they are caring, on the other, they are the recipient of support from members of their
social network. The caregiver may be providing extensive personal care such as bathing and
feeding the patient, or less personal care such as cleaning the patient’s home, paying bills, or
cooking meals. As a care recipient, they may be receiving financial assistance from other family
members, receiving respite care from volunteers and friends, or receiving spiritual or emotional
counseling from professionals. A person’s ability to provide support may depend on the support
they receive from their network, and vice versa, the support they receive from their network may
depend on the care demanded by the patient (Pearlin, Aneshensel, Mullan, & Whitlatch, 1996).
Fifteen percent of all caregivers, and more than 30 percent of those providing the highest
levels of care report significant physical and emotional stress (NAC & AARP, 1997).
Furthermore, those who report mental or emotional strain associated with the chronic stress of
caregiving had a mortality risk more than 60 percent higher than individuals in noncaregiving
roles (Schulz & Beach, 1999).
Telemedicine, the use of telecommunication technologies to deliver health services over a
distance, may be one means of potentially alleviating the stress on caregivers. The purpose of
this research was to examine the role of telehospice in providing support to caregivers of hospice
patients. The goal was to evaluate the feasibility of using telehospice to meet the emotional
needs of caregivers living in rural areas who may have limited support by other means.
Hospice: A Concept of Caring
Hospice is care designed to provide comfort and support to patients and their families at
the end of life, when a life-limiting illness no longer responds to cure-oriented treatments (HFA,
2002a). It represents a supportive philosophy of providing care to those whose life expectancy is
Convention