An exploratory study of Dignity Therapy for people with advanced cancer

Phase 2

Completed

• Conditions: Advanced cancer; Cancer; Malignant neoplasm of other and ill-defined sites

• Registration Number: ISRCTN29868352
• Lead Sponsor: King's College London (UK)

Brief Summary

Not available

Detailed Description

Not available

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2009-02-12
• Last Update Posted: 17 October 2016

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 40

Inclusion Criteria

Adults aged greater than or equal to 18 years, either sex, with advanced cancer who have been referred to a hospital-based palliative care team. In one hospital trust only patients being cared for in the community will be included. In the other hospital only in-patients and those visiting out-patient clinics will be included. Participants will not be screened for spiritual or psychological distress, or loss of dignity, however, they will be assessed at baseline, to explore the potential moderating effects of these on the impact of the intervention.

Exclusion Criteria

1. Patients who are considered by the palliative care team to be too ill to take part in a protocol lasting two weeks
2. Unable to provide informed consent either due to cognitive problems, or to the severity of their illness, or because they are unable to understand English

Study & Design

• Study Type: Interventional
• Study Design: Not specified

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Patients' sense of dignity, assessed using the Patient Dignity Inventory at baseline, as soon as possible after the intervention has been completed and 1 month post-intervention, and the equivalent in the control group. Themes covered by this questionnaire include physical, psychosocial, existential and spiritual domains of concern or distress.