Pini, S, Bekker, HL orcid.org/0000-0003-1978-5795, Bennett, M et al. (1 more author) (2022) A structured intervention to support early palliative care conversations for oncology patients – A qualitative feasibility study. Clinical Oncology, 34 (12). e515-e522. ISSN 0936-6555
Abstract
Aims
For patients with advanced cancer, early access to palliative care can have numerous psychosocial and disease management benefits. However, it can be difficult for clinicians to initiate these initial conversations about palliative care. The aim of the present study was to beta test an intervention to facilitate timely conversations about palliative care between patients and clinicians.
Materials and methods
The study reported forms one stage of a complex intervention development study following Medical Research Council guidance for developing complex interventions. Feasibility was explored from patient and clinician perspectives in an oncology outpatient setting.
Results
Sixteen patients and 18 clinicians participated. Three phases of the intervention were assessed through patient and clinician interviews. The analysis produced three themes in each phase: (i) Preparation (patient preparedness; healthcare professionals' perspectives on palliative care; administration, data and communication); (ii) STEP consultation (defining perspectives on palliative care; how palliative care fits with the current treatment plan; permission to explore future care); (iii) Outcomes (changes in perspective and approaches to coping; opening the door to future conversations; referrals and involvement of palliative services).
Conclusions
The STEP intervention generated important early conversations about end-of-life care that may otherwise not have occurred. No patients regretted having the STEP consultation, which resulted in palliative care referrals for some. Others felt better informed about the support services available and better able to have further conversations. Participating clinicians found the structured conversation guide useful, as it acted as a prompt for areas to cover, as well as providing an explicit way to open discussion about difficult topics.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
---|---|
Authors/Creators: |
|
Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The Royal College of Radiologists. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
Keywords: | Cancer; end-of-life care; palliative care; psychological care; quality of life; supportive care |
Dates: |
|
Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Medicine and Health (Leeds) > School of Medicine (Leeds) > Leeds Institute of Health Sciences (Leeds) > Academic Unit of Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences (Leeds) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number NIHR National Inst Health Research PB-PG-0416-20004 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 25 May 2022 14:01 |
Last Modified: | 22 Feb 2023 01:24 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Elsevier |
Identification Number: | 10.1016/j.clon.2022.05.012 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:187111 |