The Effectiveness of Dignity Therapy in Terminal Ill Patients

Summary

Maintaining patient dignity is the moral obligation and an important ethical consideration of health professionals; it is also the primary connotation of medical care. Previous research revealed that terminal patients had moderate to severe dignity loss, and approximately 40% of them suffered from dignity-related distress, which required assistance from health professionals. This is a second- and third-year study project. The first-year study established and developed the localized "Terminal Patient Dignity Model" and "Terminal Patient Dignity Scale" for Taiwan. At present, the reliability and validity of the scale are being continuously tested. The second-year study adopts a longitudinal study design. The dignity therapy is referred for intervention. It adopts the randomized controlled experimental study method. Patients with terminal illness in a medical center will be randomly assigned to two groups, and each group is expected to have 34 patients. The experimental group will be provided with dignity therapy, whereas hospice palliative care will be adopted for the control group. Dignity, demoralization, depression, and other indicators will be measured in the pretest, immediately after the intervention, at 1 month and 3 months. In the third year, the study project will continue the intervention scheme and track the results of dignity, demoralization, depression, and other indicators at 6 and 9 months after the intervention. This study can help understand the status of dignity among terminal patients in Taiwan, and extend the terminal patient dignity scale and dignity therapy to noncancer terminal patients, in order to provide appropriate care to maintain dignity. It is also expected to provide a reference for the government to formulate empirical care policies on dignity therapy.

Conditions

• End of Life Patients

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

dignity therapy

Dignity therapists use the "Dignity Psychotherapy Question Protocol" to guide patients through life's most important issues, providing them with the opportunity to participate in and discuss the things they would like their families to remember them for. During the process, dignity therapists use audio recording to fully record, transcribe, and edit the interview material, creating a valuable record that the patient wishes to preserve. The edited document is then returned to the patient, who then gives it to their family members.

BEHAVIORAL

Hospice palliative care

Participants regularly receive hospice care

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Kaohsiung Medical University Chung-Ho Memorial Hospital (KMUH), Taiwan

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Kaohsiung Medical University Chung-Ho Memorial Hospital

  lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

SUPPORTIVE_CARE

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

20 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2023-09-14

Primary Completion

2025-08-25

Completion

2025-08-25

Countries

• Taiwan

Study Locations