Managing and overcoming the challenges of qualitative research on palliative family caregivers

Based on an ongoing research project with palliative family caregivers, this chapter operates as a reflection on praxis, to identify ethical, practical and emotional issues that permeate this type of often sensitive research given the critical nature of the population of interest. Discussion specific to how these issues can be managed in order to better facilitate research, which will ultimately enhance the contributions made to health care policy and practice, is at the heart of this chapter. Although the logistic and emotional challenges for the researcher are many, given the clear need for often fragile caregiver participants to communicate with a distant, nonjudgmental listener, the rewards have been great. Not only is speaking to individual family caregivers (FCGs) rewarding, in that they personify compassion, but speaking in front of Parliament in Ottawa, Canada’s capital city, confirms that the research knowledge is making a difference in the policy and program arenas.