Background: Assessing and evaluating health care is important, and an abundance of instruments are developed in different languages. Translating existing, validated instruments is demanding and calls for adherence to protocol.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to translate and culturally adapt the FAMCARE-2 scale for use in Sweden.

Methods: Traditional back-translation and the decentering stance were utilized and assessed. Experts in palliative care clinic and research were involved; the FAMCARE-2 instrument was discussed with family caregivers and content validity was assessed by experienced health professionals.

Results: Significant discrepancies were not revealed by back-translation. Using the decentering stance gave reliable structure and opportunities for reflection throughout the translation process.

Discussion: Translating an existing instrument into a second language requires interpretation and adaptation more than a naive translation. The back-translation process may be enhanced if the decentering stance is adopted.

BACKGROUND: Teamwork is a standard of care in palliative care and that is emphasized by leading organizations. When interdisciplinary teams communicate their varied assessments, outcomes may be more than additive due to the synthesis of information. Interprofessionality does not guarantee multidimensionality in health care interventions, however, and that interprofessional teams promote collaboration may be questioned.

AIM: The aim was to explore team interaction among team members in specialized palliative care teams.

DESIGN: Semistructured interviews were conducted with health professionals working in specialized palliative home care teams. The interviews were analyzed by content analysis. Setting/participants: Participants were recruited from specialized palliative care units in Sweden. The 15 interviewees included 4 men and 11 women. Physcians, nurses, paramedical staff, and social workers were included.

RESULTS: Organizational issues like resources and leadership have a great impact on delivery of care. Competence was mirrored in education, collaboration, approach, and support within the team; while communication was described as key to being a team, resolving conflict, and executing palliative care.

CONCLUSION: Communication and communication patterns within the team create the feeling of being a team. Team climate and team performance are significantly impacted by knowledge and trust of competence in colleagues, with other professions, and by the available leadership. Proportions of different health professionals in the team have an impact on the focus and delivery of care. Interprofessional education giving clarity on one's own professional role and knowledge of other professions would most likely benefit patients and family caregivers.

BACKGROUND: Those who are seriously ill and facing death are often li ing with physical, emotional, social, and spiritual suffering. Teamwork is considered to be necessary to holistically meet the diverse needs of patients in palliative care. Reviews of studies regarding palliative care team outcomes have concluded that teams provide benefits, especially regarding pain and symptom management. Much of the research concerning palliative care teams has been performed from the perspective of the service providers and has less often focused on patients' and families' experiences of care.

OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to investigate how the team's work is manifested in care episodes narrated by patients and families in specialized palliative home care (SPHC).

METHOD: A total of 13 interviews were conducted with patients and families receiving specialized home care. Six patients and seven family members were recruited through SPHC team leaders. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and the transcripts qualitatively analyzed into themes.

RESULTS: Two themes were constructed through thematic analysis: (1) security ("They are always available," "I get the help I need quickly"); and (2) continuity of care ("They know me/us, our whole situation and they really care"). Of the 74 care episodes, 50 were descriptions of regularly scheduled visits, while 24 related to acute care visits and/or interventions.

SIGNIFICANCE OF RESULTS: Patients' and family members' descriptions of the work of SPHC teams are conceptualized through experiences of security and continuity of care. Experiences of security are fostered through the 24/7 availability of the team, sensitivity and flexibility in meeting patients' and families' needs, and practical adjustments to enable care at home. Experiences of continuity of care are fostered through the team's collective approach, where the individual team member knows the patients and family members, including their whole situation, and cares about the little things in life as well as caring for the family unit.

To meet complex needs in persons and families within specialist palliative care, care team members are expected to work together in performing a comprehensive assessment of patient needs. Team type (how integrated team members work) and team maturity (group development) have been identified as components in team effectiveness and productivity. The aim of the study reported in this paper was to identify team types in specialist palliative care in Sweden, and to explore associations between team type, team maturity and team effectiveness in home care teams. A national web-based survey of team types, based on Thylefors questionnaire, and a survey of healthcare professionals using the Group Development Questionnaire (GDQ-SE3) to assess team developmental phase, effectiveness and productivity were used in an exploratory cross-sectional design. The participants were: Specialist palliative care teams in Sweden registered in the Palliative Care Directory (n = 77), and members of 11 specialist palliative home care teams. Teams comprised physicians, registered nurses, social workers, physiotherapists and/or occupational therapists, full-or part-time. Our national web survey results showed that the 77 investigated teams had existed from 7 to 21 years, were foremost of medium size and functioned as inter- or transprofessional teams. Results from the 61 HCPs, representing 11 teams, indicated that more mature teams tended to work in an integrated manner, rather than in parallel. The effectiveness ratio varied from 52% to 86% in teams. Recommendations arising from our findings include the need for clarification of team goals and professional roles together with prioritizing the development of desirable psychosocial traits and team processes in clinical settings.