Objective: To clarify family members’ behaviors toward terminally ill cancer patients with communication difficulties and the related support provided by medical professionals. Method: Participants included 15 medical professionals engaged in palliative care (physicians, nurses, and psychologists) and 5 bereaved family members who had cared for terminally ill cancer patients at a hospital. Semi-structured interviews were conducted on the following: (1) family members’ behaviors toward the patient and (2) related support provided by medical professionals to family members. The interviews were qualitatively analyzed using category analysis. Results: We identified three categories of family members’ behaviors toward the patient such as behaviors that continue to communicate with the patient as usual, behaviors that assist patients to feel secure and relaxed, We also identified nine categories of the related support provided by medical professionals such as advising family members on how to behave with the patient and providing encouraging feedback to family members on their behaviors toward the patient. Discussion: Our results suggest that medical professionals encouraged family members to continue their behaviors to patients confidently. Support to family members included suggesting behaviors to make it easier for them to put into practice, encouraging the patient and family interaction, and giving feedback on the family member’s behaviors.

We implemented a questionnaire survey targeting mothers who are in child care and had participated in consultations regarding drugs and diseases. We examined the future roles of community pharmacists by exploring the mothers’ concerns and, anxieties about child cares and their backgrounds, and their expectations for profession of community pharmacist. Mothers have listed anxiety and concerns of child care about “dermatitis such as rash and atopic eczema”; “food allergies”; “infectious diseases such as measles, chicken pox, and mumps”; and “side effects of vaccination”. In addition, most of them indicated their own concerns and anxiety about “solutions to children’s illnesses.” Despite their anxieties and concerns, however, approximately 60% of the mothers have never consulted with community pharmacists. Among them, approximately a half of them indicated the following three reasons why they have never consulted with pharmacists: “I have nothing to talk about,”, “I do not know what I should talk about,”, and “I was not sure if it was alright to talk about my concerns.”. From these results, we concluded that community pharmacists in the future should improve their communication skills and inform their availability to consult about medicine and disease to local residents.