Neto David D, Coelho Alexandra, Albuquerque Sara, Nunes da Silva Ana
School of Psychology, ISPA - Instituto Universitário, Lisbon, Portugal.
APPsyCI - Applied Psychology Research Center Capabilities & Inclusion, Lisbon, Portugal.
Clin Psychol Eur. 2025 Feb 28;7(1):e14307. doi: 10.32872/cpe.14307. eCollection 2025 Feb.
Grief reactions of relatives of palliative care patients are seldom addressed. Most interventions focus on Prolonged Grief Disorder (PGD) and not on its prevention. This is particularly relevant in palliative care, in which death is the result of a difficult period of a terminal illness, making caregivers particularly vulnerable to psychological distress. The purpose of the present exploratory trial is to test the efficacy of a selective intervention (Empower-Grief) for the initial problematic grief reactions and to study potential predictors of adherence and efficacy.
This is an exploratory Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) studying Empower-Grief compared with Treatment as Usual (TAU). Participants will be relatives or caregivers of palliative and oncological patients with initial indicators of risk of developing PGD and will be randomly allocated to Empower-Grief and TAU. Participants will be assessed prior, at the end and six months after the intervention. The primary outcome considered will be symptoms of PGD. The assessment includes measures of anxiety and depression, coping, attachment, psychological flexibility, posttraumatic growth, social support and therapeutic alliance.
The trial is ongoing. Forty-four participants will be invited to participate.
This study addresses the need for the development of empirically grounded and feasible interventions aimed at dealing with initial problematic reactions in grief, exploring potential predictors and possible venues for personalizing intervention and understanding the mechanism through which these interventions operate.
姑息治疗患者亲属的悲伤反应很少得到关注。大多数干预措施聚焦于持续性悲伤障碍（PGD），而非其预防。这在姑息治疗中尤为重要，因为死亡是绝症艰难阶段的结果，使得照顾者特别容易陷入心理困扰。本探索性试验的目的是测试一种选择性干预措施（Empower-Grief）对初始问题性悲伤反应的疗效，并研究依从性和疗效的潜在预测因素。
这是一项探索性随机对照试验（RCT），将Empower-Grief与常规治疗（TAU）进行比较。参与者将是有发展为PGD风险初始指标的姑息治疗和肿瘤患者的亲属或照顾者，并将被随机分配到Empower-Grief组和TAU组。在干预前、干预结束时和干预后六个月对参与者进行评估。所考虑的主要结局将是PGD的症状。评估包括焦虑和抑郁、应对方式、依恋、心理灵活性、创伤后成长、社会支持和治疗联盟的测量。
试验正在进行中。将邀请44名参与者参加。
本研究满足了开发基于实证且可行的干预措施的需求，这些措施旨在应对悲伤中的初始问题性反应，探索潜在预测因素以及个性化干预的可能途径，并理解这些干预措施的作用机制。
