Effectiveness of an interdisciplinary palliative care intervention for family caregivers in lung cancer.

BACKGROUND: Family caregivers (FCGs) experience significant deteriorations in quality of life while caring for patients with lung cancer. In this study, the authors tested the effectiveness of an interdisciplinary palliative care intervention for FCGs of patients diagnosed with stage I through IV nonsmall cell lung cancer. METHODS: FCGs who were identified by patients as their primary caregivers were enrolled in a prospective, quasi-experimental study in which the usual care group was accrued first followed by the intervention group. FCGs in the intervention group were presented at interdisciplinary care meetings, and they also received 4 educational sessions organized in the physical, psychological, social, and spiritual domains. The sessions included self-care plans to support the FCG's own needs. Caregiver burden, caregiving skills preparedness, psychological distress, and FCG quality of life were assessed at baseline and after 12 weeks using validated measures. RESULTS: In total, 366 FCGs were included in the primary analysis. FCGs who received the interdisciplinary palliative care intervention had significantly better scores for social well being (5.84 vs 6.86; P < .001) and had lower psychological distress scores (4.61 vs 4.20; P = .010) at 12 weeks compared with FCGs in the usual care group. FCGs in the intervention group also had significantly less caregiver burden compared with FCGs in the usual care group (P = .008). CONCLUSIONS: An interdisciplinary approach to palliative care in lung cancer resulted in statistically significant improvements in FCG's social well being and psychological distress and in less caregiver burden.

Integrating social work into palliative care for lung cancer patients and families: a multidimensional approach.

Lung cancer patients and their family caregivers face a wide range of potentially distressing symptoms across the four domains of quality of life. A multidimensional approach to addressing these complex concerns with early integration of palliative care has proven beneficial. This article highlights opportunities to integrate social work using a comprehensive quality of life model and a composite patient scenario from a large lung cancer educational intervention National Cancer Institute-funded program project grant.

Pilot Study of a Communication Coaching Telephone Intervention for Lung Cancer Caregivers.

BACKGROUND: Family caregivers are a key communication source for nurses, and there is a need to provide communication skill building for caregivers. OBJECTIVE: A pilot study was conducted to determine feasibility and use of a communication coaching telephone intervention aimed at improving caregiver confidence in communication and reducing psychological distress. METHODS: A printed communication guide for caregivers and a 1-time communication coaching call delivered by a research nurse were provided to caregivers. Recruitment and attrition, implementation and content of coaching calls, caregiver outcomes, and satisfaction with intervention were analyzed. RESULTS: Twenty caregivers were recruited across 4 cohorts-diagnosis, treatment, survivorship, and end of life-with recruitment greater than 70%. Caregiver calls averaged 37 minutes, and most caregivers reported communication challenges with family members. Caregiver action plans revealed a need to develop communication skills to ask for help and share information. Caregivers reported satisfaction with the print guide, and 90% of caregivers followed through with their action plan, with 80% reporting that the action plan worked. Caregiver confidence in communication with healthcare providers was improved, except for caregivers of cancer survivors. CONCLUSIONS: Recruitment and attrition rates demonstrate feasibility of the intervention. Caregivers reported that the communication coaching telephone intervention was considered valuable and they were able to implement a communication action plan with others. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Lessons were learned about intervention content, namely, that nurses can help caregivers learn communication strategies for asking for help, sharing cancer information, and initiating self-care.

Cancer Communication and Family Caregiver Quality of Life.

Family caregivers have enormous communication responsibilities tied to caregiving, such as sharing the patient's medical history with providers, relaying diagnosis and prognosis to other family members, and making decisions about care with the patient. While caregiver stress and burden has been widely documented in the caregiving literature, little is known about how communication burden, real or perceived communication challenges, impacts caregiver quality of life. In family caregiving, the City of Hope (COH) Quality of Life model proposes that the caregiving experience is reciprocal to the patient experience, impacting physical, social, psychological, and spiritual quality of life. We used data from a pilot study testing a communication coaching call intervention with family caregivers of lung cancer patients to analyze caregiver reported communication burden and quality of life. We found variances in each quality of life domain, suggesting that caregiver interventions should range from self-care skill building for physical care to psycho-educational interventions that support caregiver coping and communication skill building. These findings demonstrate the importance of caregiver assessment and attention to communication burden in quality cancer care.

Support for Patients and Family Caregivers in Lung Cancer: Educational Components of an Interdisciplinary Palliative Care Intervention.

Consistent with the recommendations of the Institute of Medicine Report on quality cancer care, attention to symptom management and quality of life concerns of patients with lung cancer should be addressed throughout the disease trajectory. As part of a NCI-funded Program Project grant, this paper reports on the patient and family caregiver education component of a nurse-lead, tailored palliative care intervention for patients with early (I-III, n=130) and late (IV, n=142) stage lung cancer. Patients and family caregivers received 4 separate educational sessions organized around the Quality of Life model domains (physical, psychological, social, and spiritual well-being). Each patient and caregiver was presented at a weekly interdisciplinary case conference which also informed the educational sessions. Based on needs and team suggestions, an individualized palliative care plan was created and a tailored educational intervention was designed based on topics chosen by each participant. The most common topics chosen by patients in each domain were fatigue, worry and fear, social support/isolation, and hope. Family caregivers most commonly chose fatigue, worry and fear, communication, and purpose and meaning in life. The mean time spent in each teaching session ranged from 31 to 44 minutes for patients and 25 to 35 minutes for family caregivers. There is a vital need for interdisciplinary palliative care interventions for patients across all stages and across the disease trajectory. Nurses are vital to integrating palliative care into routine care. Providing a tailored educational intervention is an important aspect of palliative care for patients and family caregivers. This paper focuses on the process of the tailored educational intervention.

Improving Palliative Cancer Care.

Over a decade ago, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) presented Ensuring Quality Cancer Care in the United States, with recommendations for change (IOM, 1999). However, barriers to integrating palliative care (PC) to achieve high-quality care in cancer still remain. As novel therapeutic agents evolve, patients are living longer, and advanced cancer is now considered a chronic illness. In addition to complex symptom concerns, patients and family caregivers are burdened with psychological, social, and spiritual distress. Furthermore, data show that PC continues to be underutilized and inaccessible, and current innovative models of integrating PC into standard cancer care lack uniformity. The aim of this article is to address the existing barriers in implementing PC into our cancer care delivery system and discuss how the oncology advanced practice nurse plays an essential role in providing high-quality cancer care. We also review the IOM recommendations; highlight the work done by the National Consensus Project in promoting quality PC; and discuss a National Cancer Institute-funded program project currently conducted at a National Comprehensive Cancer Center, "Palliative Care for Quality of Life and Symptoms Concerns in Lung Cancer," which serves as a model to promote high-quality care for patients and their families.

Interdisciplinary palliative care intervention in metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer.

OBJECTIVE: Challenges and barriers continue to hinder the integration of palliative care models into comprehensive, ambulatory oncology care. This article aims to describe how symptoms, distress, and quality of life (QOL) data from the usual care phase of a National Cancer Institute-supported Program Project informed the development of an interdisciplinary, tailored palliative care intervention for patients with metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). METHODS: Patients receiving usual care for metastatic NSCLC were recruited into this prospective longitudinal study over a 1-year period. A total of 130 patients with stage IV NSCLC were accrued, and 114 patients had evaluable data. Research nurses assisted patients in completing the clinical section of the data forms, and patients completed surveys and self-reports at baseline and 6, 12, and 24 weeks. RESULTS: Patients ranged in age from 40 to 84 years, and 61% were Caucasian non-Hispanic. Sixty-six former (N = 59) and current smokers had an average of 38 pack-year history of smoking. The Karnofsky Performance Status, Instrumental Activities of Daily Living, and Cognitive scores deteriorated significantly (P = .001, .009, and .042, respectively). Social Activity was stable, whereas Social Support increased significantly. Overall symptom distress score and Total symptom score both significantly increased at 24 weeks (P = .003 and .017, respectively). Physical Well-Being decreased significantly (P = .036), whereas the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Lung, Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spirituality Subscale, and Distress scores remained statistically stable over time. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with metastatic NSCLC continue to experience high symptom burden and diminished physical well-being over time while receiving cancer treatments. An interdisciplinary palliative care intervention is currently being tested to improve symptom burden and overall QOL.

Management of Anorexia-Cachexia in Late Stage Lung Cancer Patients.

Nutritional deficiencies are experienced by most adults with advanced lung cancer during the course of their disease and treatment. Well-nourished individuals tolerate cancer treatment with less morbidity, mortality, and increased response to treatment as compared to those who are malnourished. Novel anti-cancer therapies cause many deficits that impact nutritional and functional status during the treatment process. Nutritional deficits include weight loss, malnutrition, and anorexia-cachexia. Anorexia-Cachexia is complex, not well understood and seen in many solid tumors in late stage disease. Assessing adequate nutrition is one of the most challenging problems for nurses, their patients and patient's families. The purpose of this review is to define and describe cancer anorexia-cachexia in late stage lung cancer, through case presentation, and to describe palliative strategies for prevention, assessment, and management in the palliative care setting. Early assessment for nutritional imbalances must be done regularly with re-evaluation for intervention effectiveness and should continue throughout the illness trajectory. Management of adverse effects of cancer and cancer-related treatment is critical to improving quality of life. Palliative care and hospice nurses play a critical role in early assessment, education and prevention to support nutritional needs for patients and their families.