Abstract
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Background: Providing care at end of life has consequences for caregivers��� bereavement experience. ���Difficulty moving on with life��� is an informative and unbiased symptom of prolonged grief disorder. Predictors of bereaved caregivers��� ability to ���move on��� have not been examined across the population. Aim: To identify the characteristics of bereaved hands-on caregivers who were, and were not, able to ���move on��� 13���60 months after the ���expected��� death of someone close. Design: The South Australian Health Omnibus is an annual, random, cross-sectional community survey. From 2000 to 2007, respondents were asked about providing care for someone terminally ill and their subsequent ability to ���move on���. Multivariable logistic regression models explored the characteristics moving on and not moving on. Setting: Respondents were aged ���15 years and lived in households within South Australia. They had provided care to someone who had died of terminal illness in the preceding 5 years. Results: A total of 922 people provided hands-on care. In all, 80% of caregivers (745) had been able to ���move on���. Closeness of relationship to the deceased, increasing caregiver age, caregiver report of needs met, increasing time since loss, sex and English-speaking background were significantly associated with ���moving on���. A closer relationship to the deceased, socioeconomic disadvantage and being male were significantly associated with not ���moving on���. Conclusion: These results support the relevance of ���moving on��� as an indicator of caregivers��� bereavement adjustment. Following the outcomes of bereaved caregivers longitudinally is essential if effective interventions are to be developed to minimise the risk of prolonged grief disorder.