Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rcrh6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-01T03:17:50.416Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The psychosocial experiences of older palliative patients while participating in a Living with Hope Program

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 April 2016

Wendy Duggleby ,
Dan Cooper ,
Cheryl Nekolaichuk ,
Laura Cottrell ,
Jenny Swindle  and
Kelsi Barkway
Wendy Duggleby*
Affiliation:
Faculty of Nursing, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Dan Cooper
Affiliation:
Canadian Association for Spiritual Care, Oakville, Ontario, Canada
Cheryl Nekolaichuk
Affiliation:
Department of Oncology, Division of Palliative Care Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Laura Cottrell
Affiliation:
Faculty of Nursing, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Jenny Swindle
Affiliation:
Faculty of Nursing, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Kelsi Barkway
Affiliation:
Faculty of Arts and Science, Department of Sociology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to Wendy Duggleby, Faculty of Nursing University of Alberta, Third Level ECHA 11405-87th Avenue, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 1C9. E-mail: [email protected].
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Objective:

Several studies have reported the effectiveness of a variety of psychosocial interventions in increasing levels of hope in palliative care patients. The experience of palliative patients while participating in these interventions is unknown. Understanding these experiences would provide a rich understanding of how the interventions work to foster hope. The purpose of the present study was to describe the psychosocial processes that participants with advanced cancer receiving palliative care experienced when taking part in a Living with Hope Program (LWHP).

Method:

In the context of a study evaluating the LWHP, data were collected from 13 dyads (persons with advanced cancer and their caregivers) at two timepoints (one week apart). A thematic qualitative analysis of 52 open-ended audiotaped interviews was conducted that focused on the psychosocial processes that occurred during the LWHP.

Results:

The average age of palliative participants was 67 (SD = 6.6) and of their family caregivers 61 years of age (SD = 13.9). A thematic analysis suggested that the participants experienced the following psychosocial processes while participating in the LWHP: (1) reminiscing, (2) leaving a legacy, (3) positive reappraisal, and (4) motivational processes. These processes are the mechanisms by which the LWHP fosters the positive outcomes of increasing hope and improving quality of life. As well, the finding of motivational processes suggested that the LWHP may also increase life satisfaction, which is an outcome of motivational processes.

Significance of the results:

The findings from our study underscore the importance of uncovering the psychosocial processes through which the LWHP works to foster hope. They will assist in making revisions to the intervention that will increase its effectiveness, as well as providing a better understanding of hope in persons with advanced cancer.

Keywords

MechanismsHopeQualitative researchOlder adultsAdvanced illness
Type
Original Articles
Information
Palliative & Supportive Care , Volume 14 , Issue 6 , December 2016 , pp. 672 - 679
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2016 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Ando, M., Morita, T., Akechi, T., et al. (2010). Efficacy of short-term life-review interviews on the spiritual well-being of terminally ill cancer patients. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 39(6), 993–1002.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bandura, A. (1977). Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychological Review, 84, 191–215.Google Scholar
Benzein, E., Norberg, A. & Saveman, B. (2001). The meaning of the lived experience of hope in patients with cancer in palliative home care. Palliative Medicine, 15, 117–226.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Broadhurst, K. & Harrington, A. (2015). A mixed-method thematic review: The importance of hope to the dying patient. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 72(1), 18–32.Google Scholar
Chan, J.Y., Chan, F., Ditchman, N., et al. (2013). Evaluating Snyder's hope theory as a motivational model of participation and life satisfaction for individuals with spinal cord injury: A path analysis. Rehabilitation Research, Policy, and Education, 27(3), 171–185.Google Scholar
Denford, S., Campbell, J.L., Frost, J., et al. (2013). Processes of change in an asthma self-care intervention. Qualitative Health Research, 23(10), 1419–1429.Google Scholar
Duggleby, W. & Wright, K. (2005). Transforming hope: How elderly palliative patients live with hope. The Canadian Journal of Nursing Research, 37(2), 70–84.Google Scholar
Duggleby, W.D., Degner, L., Williams, A., et al. (2007). Living with hope: Initial evaluation of a psychosocial hope intervention for older palliative home care patients. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 33(3), 247–257.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Duggleby, W., Hicks, D., Nekolaichuk, C., et al. (2012). Hope, older adults, and chronic illness: A metasynthesis of qualitative research. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 68(6), 1211–1223.Google Scholar
Duggleby, W., Doell, H., Cooper, D., et al. (2014). The quality of life of male spouses of women with breast cancer: Hope, self-efficacy and perceptions of guilt. Cancer Nursing, 37(1), E28–E35.Google Scholar
Eliott, J. & Oliver, I. (2009). Hope, life, and death: A qualitative analysis of dying cancer patients talk about hope. Death Studies, 33(7), 609–638.Google Scholar
Guest, G., MacQueen, K. & Namey, E. (2012). Applied thematic analysis. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Guy, M.P., Higginson, I.J. & Amesbury, B.D. (2011). The effect of palliative daycare on hope: A comparison of daycare patients with two control groups. Journal of Palliative Care, 27(3), 216–223.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hall, S., Goddard, C., Opio, D., et al. (2011). A novel approach to enhancing hope in patients with advanced cancer: A randomised phase II trial of dignity therapy. BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care, 1(3), 315–321.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hansen, M.J., Enright, R.D., Baskin, T.W., et al. (2009). A palliative care intervention in forgiveness therapy for elderly terminally ill cancer patients. Journal of Palliative Care, 25(1), 51–60.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Herth, K. (1993). Hope in older adults in community and institutional settings. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 14, 139–156.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lindquist, O., Threlkedl, G., Street, A., et al. (2015). Reflections on using biographical approaches in end-of-life care: Dignity therapy as an example. Qualitative Health Research, 25(1), 40–50.Google Scholar
Lazarus, R.S. & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal and coping. New York: Springer Science.Google Scholar
Mattioli, J.L., Repinski, R. & Chappy, S.L. (2008). The meaning of hope and social support in patients receiving chemotherapy. Oncology Nursing Forum, 35(5), 822–829.Google Scholar
Medical Research Council (2008). Developing and evaluating complex interventions: The new Medical Research Council guidance. BMJ, 337. Available from http://www.bmj.com/content/337/bmj.a1655.Google Scholar
Mok, E. (2010). The meaning of hope from the perspective of Chinese advanced cancer patients in Hong Kong. International Journal of Palliative Nursing, 16(6), 298–305.Google Scholar
Mystakidou, K., Tsilika, E., Parpa, E., et al. (2008). The relationship between quality of life and levels of hopelessness and depression in palliative care. Depression and Anxiety, 25(9), 730–736.Google Scholar
Reed, P (2008). Theory of self-transcendence. In Middle range theory for nursing. Smith, M.J. & Liehr, P. (eds.), pp. 105–129. New York: Springer Science.Google Scholar
Rodin, G., Lo, C., Mikulincer, M., et al. (2009). Pathways to distress: The multiple determinants of depression, hopelessness, and the desire for hastened death in metastatic cancer patients. Social Science & Medicine, 68(3), 562–569.Google Scholar
Sanatani, M., Schreier, G. & Stitt, L. (2008). Level and direction of hope in cancer patients: An exploratory longitudinal study. Supportive Care in Cancer, 16(5), 493–499.Google Scholar
Schwarzer, R. & Jerusalem, M. (1995). Generalized self-efficacy scale. In Measures in health psychology: A user's portfolio. Causal and control beliefs. Weinman, S.W.J. & Johnston, M. (eds.), pp. 35–37. Windsor, UK: NFER-NELSON.Google Scholar
Smedema, S.M., Phillips, B.N. & Chan, J.Y. (2014). Core self-evaluations and Snyder's hope theory in persons with spinal cord injuries. Rehabilitation Psychology, 59(4), 339–406.Google Scholar
Snyder, C.R. (ed.) (2000). Handbook of hope. theory, measures and applications. San Diego: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Troy, A.S., Wilhelm, F.H., Shallcross, A.J., et al. (2010). Seeing the silver lining: Cognitive reappraisal ability moderates the relationship between stress and depressive symptoms. Emotion, 10(56), 783–795.Google Scholar
Westerhof, G.J., Bohlmejer, E. & Webster, J.D. (2010). Reminiscence and mental health: A review of recent progress in theory, research and interventions. Ageing and Society, 30, 697–721.Google Scholar