Family-centred palliative care boosts mental health, QoL of advanced cancer patients, caregivers

A family-centred palliative care intervention helps improve the mental well-being and quality of life (QoL) of patients with advanced cancer and their caregivers, a study has shown.

A remote randomized controlled trial was conducted involving 104 patients with advanced cancers (eg, lung, breast, colon) and caregivers. Patients and their caregivers were randomly allocated to either an intervention (n=52) or a control group (n=52). Both groups underwent 4 weeks of health education, but the intervention group also received 4 weeks of early palliative care.

The investigators assessed anxiety, depression, resilience, benefit discovery, and QoL at baseline (T1), immediately after the intervention (T2), and 1 month following the intervention (T3) using various scales, including the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Connor Davidson Resilience Scale, Benefit Discovery Rating Scale, Caregiver Positive Feelings Scale, Functional Evaluation of Cancer Therapy Scale, and Caregiver Quality of Life Scale.

Patients who received the intervention showed significantly greater resilience, benefit discovery, QoL, and lower anxiety and depression at T2 and T3 when compared with those in the control group (p<0.01).

Further analysis revealed a significant interaction among group, time, and role regarding anxiety, depression, and resilience (p<0.01). This result underscores distinct differences in resilience and improvements in anxiety and depression between patients and their caregivers (p<0.01).