The purpose of this study is to determine whether discussions of life story, forgiveness, and future goals improve quality of life for patients with serious illness.
This is a pilot randomized control trial to evaluate the feasibility of the Outlook intervention. 36 veterans with advanced cancer, congestive heart failure (CHF) or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) will be randomly assigned to one of three intervention groups and complete a brief battery of pre-test measures. Subjects in the first group ("treatment") will meet with a facilitator three times for a period of 45 min-1 hour. In the first session, subjects will be asked to discuss issues related to life review. In the second session, participants will be asked to speak in more depth about issues such as regret, forgiveness and things left undone, In the final session, subjects will focus on heritage and legacy. The subjects in the second group ("attention control") will meet with a facilitator three times for a period of 45 min- 1 hour and listen to a non-guided relaxation compact disk (CD). The third group of participants ("true control") will be exposed to no intervention or attention control. One week and two weeks later, participants in all groups will receive post-test measures administered by a blinded interviewer.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
36
Subjects will discuss life review, issues of forgiveness and heritage and legacy.
Subjects will listen to a non-guided relaxation CD.
Durham VA Medical Center HSR&D COE
Durham, North Carolina, United States
Quality of Life - Preparation
Quality Of Life At The End Of Life (the QUAL-E 2009) is a 31 item measure of quality of life at the end of life assessing five domains: life completion, relationship with health care providers, preparation for death, physical symptoms and affective social support. The 4-item preparation sub-scale is a primary outcomes measure with each item scaled from 1 to 5 with a minimum of 5, maximum of 20 score with higher scores indicating better preparation.
Time frame: Baseline, 6 and 8 week follow up
QUAL-E Completion Sub-scale
A sub-scale of the QUAL-E quality of life at the end of life measures. The scale range was 5-35 with higher scores indicating more positive sense of completion.
Time frame: Baseline, 6 and 8 week follow up
Functional Status ADL
Rosow-Breslau Activities of Daily Living scale range 17-51 with higher scores indicating greater ability.
Time frame: Baseline, 6 and 8 week follow ups
Center for Epidemiology Studies - Depression Scale (CES-D)
Center for Epidemiology Studies - Depression Scale (CES-D) is a 10-item measure of depression. Items are rated on a 4 point likert scale with total scores ranging from 0-30. Higher scores indicate greater depressive symptoms.
Time frame: Baseline, 6 and 8 week follow up
POMS Anxiety Sub-scale
The anxiety sub-scale from the modified Brief Profile of Mood States (POMS) is a 5-item measure of psychological distress.Items are on a 5-point likert scale with scoring ranging from 5-25. Higher scores indicate greater anxiety.
Time frame: Baseline, 6 and 8 week follow ups
This platform is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional.