The family talk intervention in palliative care: a study protocol

Rakel Eklund, Ulrika Kreicbergs, Anette Alvariza, Malin Lövgren, Rakel Eklund, Ulrika Kreicbergs, Anette Alvariza, Malin Lövgren

Abstract

Background: In palliative care contexts, support programs for families with a severely ill parent and minor children are few, and even fewer have been evaluated scientifically. The aims of this study are to examine feasibility and potential effects of a modified version of the Family Talk Intervention (FTI) in palliative care.

Methods: This ongoing family-centered intervention has a quasi-experimental design comparing one intervention and one comparison group. The intervention includes severely ill parents who have minor children (aged 6-19 yrs) and are receiving advanced homecare in Stockholm, Sweden between March 2017 and March 2018. The main goal of the FTI is to support family communication through psycho-education and narrative theory. The modified FTI consists of six meetings with family members, and is held by two interventionists. Each family sets up needs-based goals for the intervention. For evaluation purposes, data are collected by questionnaire before the intervention, within two months after baseline, and one year after baseline. Interviews will be conducted within two months after FTI is completed. Notes taken by one of the interventionists during the family meetings will also be used. Questionnaire data analysis will focus on patterns over time using descriptive statistics. For interview data and notes, content analysis will be used.

Discussion: This study will add knowledge about palliative care for parents who have minor children. It will contribute by testing use of FTI in palliative care, and point out directions for future evaluations of FTI in palliative care settings.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT03119545 , retrospectively registered in April 18, 2017.

Keywords: Complex intervention; Family; Family talk intervention; Minor children; Palliative care; Study protocol.

Conflict of interest statement

Ethics approval and consent to participate

This study has received ethical approval from the Regional Ethical Review Board in Stockholm, approval number: 2016/664–31/5 and 2017/7–31/1. Age-adapted information is given to all children and informed consent is obtained from parents/guardians for children under 15 years. Children over 15 year gives informed consent for their own participation in accordance with the Swedish law.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

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