Background: Family caregivers take on substantial caregiving responsibilities and report unmet support needs of their own when caring for a person with life-threatening illness.

Aim: To explore self-rated support needs and their association with preparedness for caregiving among family caregivers in specialised palliative home care.

Methods: Family caregivers of patients with life-threatening illness were recruited. Family caregivers completed questionnaires at baseline and 4 weeks later, including the Preparedness for Caregiving Scale and the Carer Support Needs Assessment Tool. Descriptive statistics and linear regression analyses were performed.

Results: Family caregivers' (n=153) support needs varied over time across several domains. Unmet needs were associated with lower baseline preparedness for caregiving, but a greater improvement in preparedness over time. When needs were met, family caregivers showed a significant improvement in their sense of preparedness.

Conclusions: Support needs and preparedness for caregiving are closely related. Addressing support needs is important to enhance preparedness.