Family members are an integral part of providing care and comfort at the end-of-life (EOL). Yet, individuals providing EOL care for a family member are vulnerable to emotional and psychological stress, and often indicate they do not have the knowledge or skills needed for providing this type of care. In addition, family dynamics across the life course may influence family communication and support during the transition to EOL care. Despite these findings, few studies examine family caregiving in the context of the family system during this transition. This study presents a brief review of extant literature and a conceptual framework designed to foster research in family caregiving systems, specifically how family dynamics influence preparedness for the transition to EOL caregiving. The complexity of individual and family aging experiences should be recognized in future research to advance the study of family caregiving and promote family caregivers' health and well-being.

中文翻译：

---

家庭动态和向临终照料的过渡：简要回顾和概念框架

家庭成员是提供临终关怀 (EOL) 的重要组成部分。然而，为家庭成员提供 EOL 护理的个人容易受到情绪和心理压力的影响，并且通常表示他们不具备提供此类护理所需的知识或技能。此外，整个生命过程中的家庭动态可能会影响过渡到 EOL 护理期间的家庭沟通和支持。尽管有这些发现，但很少有研究在这个转变过程中考察家庭系统背景下的家庭照料。本研究简要回顾了现有文献和旨在促进家庭护理系统研究的概念框架，特别是家庭动态如何影响过渡到 EOL 护理的准备工作。