Family and Coping Oriented Palliative Homecare Nursing Aimed at Advanced Cancer Patients

Summary

When facing life threatening illness such as advanced cancer palliative care is needed to improve quality of life of patients and their families through the prevention and relief of suffering. Palliative care at an early stage prevents the development of problems and symptoms, but time, resources and experience are needed in the primary care sector in Denmark to deal with the problems families experiencing life with advanced cancer are facing. The aims of this study are to test, evaluate and further develop interventions that can help identify and assess problems, resources and opportunities of families experiencing life with advanced cancer, and on this background to help the families cope with their situation in cooperation with healthcare professionals to an extent where the family's quality of life increases, their physical and psychosocial problems are relieved, their symptoms of anxiety and depression are reduced, family satisfaction with health professionals are increased and acute readmissions to hospital are prevented.

Conditions

• Advanced Cancer

Interventions

OTHER

Palliative homecare nursing

The nurse helps the family assess the identified problems. Written coping strategies according to each problem is produced including actions of the patient, family member, nurse or others. At the same time the nurse keeps attention to the family members specific needs of knowledge and support when handling direct or indirect care, understanding and coping with the disease, treatment, physical, psychosocial and economical problems and the family members own physical and mental health. The nurse provides knowledge to the family on how to prevent and/or cope with problems that may occur or re-occur and/or accepts or adapt to unsolvable problems.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Danish Cancer Society

  collaborator OTHER

• Lundbeck Foundation

  collaborator OTHER

• Sygekassernes Helsefond

  collaborator OTHER

• The Novo Nordic Foundation

  collaborator OTHER

• Danish Nurses Organisation

  collaborator OTHER

• Danish Regions

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Bispebjerg Hospital

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Susan Rydahl Hansen, Cand.cur, PhD · Research Unit of Clinical Nursing, Bispebjerg Hospital

• Anne Birgitte Hjuler Ammari, Cand.scient.san · Research Unit of Clinical Nursing, Bispebjeg Hospital

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

SUPPORTIVE_CARE

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2011-10-31

Primary Completion

2013-10-31

Completion

2014-04-30

Countries

• Denmark

Study Locations