Calvary Centre for Palliative Care Research, Calvary Public Hospital, Canberra, Australia; School of Health Sciences, Australian Catholic University, Canberra, Australia.
Calvary Centre for Palliative Care Research, Calvary Public Hospital, Canberra, Australia; School of Health Sciences, Australian Catholic University, Canberra, Australia.
J Pain Symptom Manage. 2018 May;55(5):1253-1259. doi: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2018.01.020. Epub 2018 Feb 7.
Family meetings are increasingly used in palliative care, yet have little empirical evidence of their impact in inpatient settings.
To examine whether relatives report more empathy after a family meeting in a specialist palliative care inpatient ward.
Pre/post self-complete questionnaires measuring relational empathy and information needs were administered. Qualitative interviews were also conducted. Data were collected during nine months from one inpatient specialist palliative care unit. Participants from 52 family meetings completed pre/post questionnaires, and 13 relatives participated in an interview that was analyzed thematically.
Families reported more empathy from staff after a family meeting (Wilcoxon test: n = 47; P > 0.001; Z score -4.17). Some families with relatives who do not speak with each other reported that meeting facilitators were unable to manage the pre-existing dynamics.
Family meetings improve reported empathy. It would be beneficial to have more specific preparation and planning by the clinical team for meetings with people who have a history of familial conflict, and those where the staff's agenda is around discharge planning. Published guidelines could be adapted to better support staff to run meetings where there are complex family dynamics. Adoption of family meetings in outpatient settings has the potential to improve perceptions of empathy with a larger patient group.
家庭会议在姑息治疗中越来越多地被使用，但在住院环境中，几乎没有其影响的经验证据。
研究在专科姑息治疗住院病房中，家属在参加完家庭会议后是否会报告更多的同理心。
在 9 个月的时间里，在一个专科姑息治疗住院病房中，对 52 次家庭会议的参与者进行了预/后自我完成的问卷，以测量关系同理心和信息需求。还进行了定性访谈。参与者完成了预/后问卷，共有 47 名（52 次家庭会议中的 47 名），13 名家属参加了主题分析的访谈。
家庭报告说，在家庭会议后，工作人员更有同理心（Wilcoxon 检验：n=47；P>0.001；Z 分数-4.17）。一些与彼此不交流的亲属的家庭报告说，会议协调员无法处理预先存在的动态。
家庭会议提高了同理心的报告。对于那些有家庭冲突史的人，以及那些工作人员的议程围绕着出院计划的人，临床团队进行更具体的准备和规划将是有益的。可以对已有的指南进行调整，以更好地支持工作人员在存在复杂家庭动态的情况下召开会议。在门诊环境中采用家庭会议有可能改善更大患者群体对同理心的看法。
