Support Intervention for Families and Caregivers of Palliative Care Patients (QI701)

Objectives: 1. Develop a streamlined, routine psychosocial spiritual assessment among families and caregivers of palliative care patients. 2. Develop streamlined, routine psychosocial spiritual needs intervention among families and caregivers of palliative care patients. Background: Complicated grief is intense, debilitating grief for more than six months after loss and is predicted by pre-loss depressive symptoms and unmet psychosocial needs. Per the Clinical Practice Guidelines for Quality Palliative Care, families are at risk and their psychosocial-spiritual needs should be met to improve outcomes. Aim Statement: This initiative aims to develop a streamlined, routine psychosocial spiritual assessment and intervention of families and caregivers' needs to enhance support. Methods: A validated, confidential, 13-question tool (The American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine's Chart Abstraction Checklist-Psychosocial Spiritual Assessment, edited with permission) was used to assess families of inpatient palliative care patients (n=46) over a three-month period. Identified needs were appropriately referred to a social worker, chaplain, or care manager. These assessments measured the number of needs identified and relationships among needs (p<0.05 is statistically significant). Results: Of those assessed, 97.8 percent had a need that required follow-up. A moderately significant relationship was established between those who felt they were coping well and those who reported the perception of a good support system (X2 =6.893, p=.009, Cramer's V of .387). Conclusions and Implications: Performing routine assessments resulted in a significant identification of unmet needs. Those who have greater perceived support reported coping well. Routine psychosocial spiritual assessments and appropriate interventions on caregivers should be continued with a focus on those who have a lack of a support system.