Using Patients and Their Caregivers Feedback to Develop ENABLE CHF-PC: An Early Palliative Care Intervention for Advanced Heart Failure

Objective: Models of early, community-based palliative care for individuals with New York Heart Association (NYHA) class III/IV heart failure and their families are lacking. We used the Medical Research Council process of developing complex interventions to conduct a formative evaluation study to tr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of palliative care 2019-04, Vol.34 (2), p.103-110
Main Authors: Akyar, Imatullah, Dionne-Odom, J. Nicholas, Bakitas, Marie A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cancer
Caregivers
Heart failure
Intervention
Palliative care
Patients
Qualitative research
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Summary:Objective: Models of early, community-based palliative care for individuals with New York Heart Association (NYHA) class III/IV heart failure and their families are lacking. We used the Medical Research Council process of developing complex interventions to conduct a formative evaluation study to translate an early palliative care intervention from cancer to heart failure. Method: One component of the parent formative evaluation pilot study was qualitative satisfaction interviews with 8 patient–caregiver dyad participants who completed Educate, Nurture, Advise, Before Life Ends Comprehensive Heartcare For Patient and Caregivers (ENABLE CHF-PC) intervention. The ENABLE CHF-PC consists of an in-person palliative care assessment, weekly telehealth coaching sessions, and monthly follow-up. Subsequent to completing the coaching sessions, patient and caregiver participants were interviewed to elicit their experiences with ENABLE CHF-PC. Digitally recorded interviews were transcribed and analyzed using a thematic approach. Results: Patients (n = 8) mean age was 67.3, 62.5% were female, 75% were married/living with a partner; caregivers (n = 8) mean age was 56.8, and 87.5% were female. Four themes related to experiences with ENABLE CHF-PC included “allowed me to vent,” “gained perspective,” “helped me plan,” and “gained illness management and decision-making skills.” Recommendations for intervention modification included (1) start program at diagnosis, (2) maintain phone-based approach, and (3) expand topics and modify format. Conclusion: Patients and caregivers unanimously found the intervention to be helpful and acceptable. After incorporating modifications, ENABLE CHF-PC is currently undergoing efficacy testing in a large randomized controlled trial.
ISSN:0825-8597
2369-5293
DOI:10.1177/0825859718785231