Giving and receiving thanks: a mixed methods pilot study of a gratitude intervention for palliative patients and their carers
Abstract Background Psychological research examining the nature and workings of gratitude has burgeoned over the past two decades. However, few studies have considered gratitude in the palliative care context. Based on an exploratory study which found that gratitude was correlated with better qualit...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2023-04-01
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| Series: | BMC Palliative Care |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12904-023-01172-x |
| _version_ | 1797836216107794432 |
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| author | Mathieu Bernard Emmanuelle Poncin Emilie Bovet Emmanuel Tamches Boris Cantin Josiane Pralong Gian Domenico Borasio |
| author_facet | Mathieu Bernard Emmanuelle Poncin Emilie Bovet Emmanuel Tamches Boris Cantin Josiane Pralong Gian Domenico Borasio |
| author_sort | Mathieu Bernard |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Psychological research examining the nature and workings of gratitude has burgeoned over the past two decades. However, few studies have considered gratitude in the palliative care context. Based on an exploratory study which found that gratitude was correlated with better quality of life and less psychological distress in palliative patients, we designed and piloted a gratitude intervention where palliative patients and a carer of their choice wrote and shared a gratitude letter with each other. The aims of this study are to establish the feasibility and acceptability of our gratitude intervention and provide a preliminary assessment of its effects. Methods This pilot intervention study adopted a mixed-methods, concurrent nested, pre-post evaluation design. To assess the intervention’s effects, we employed quantitative questionnaires on quality of life, quality of relationship, psychological distress, and subjective burden, as well as semi-structured interviews. To assess feasibility, we considered patients and carers’ eligibility, participation and attrition rates, reasons for refusal to participate, appropriateness of intervention timeframe, modalities of participation, and barriers and facilitators. Acceptability was assessed through post-intervention satisfaction questionnaires. Results Thirty-nine participants completed the intervention and twenty-nine participated in interviews. We did not find any statistically significant pre/post intervention changes for patients, but found significant decrease in psychological distress for carers in terms of depression (median = 3 at T0, 1.5 at T1, p = .034) and total score (median = 13 at T0, 7.5 at T1, p = .041). Thematic analysis of interviews indicates that overall, the intervention had: (1) multiple positive outcomes for over a third of interviewees, in the form of positive emotional, cognitive, and relational effects; (2) single positive outcomes for nearly half of interviewees, who experienced emotional or cognitive effects; (3) no effect on two patients; and (4) negative emotional effects on two patients. Feasibility and acceptability indicators suggest that the intervention was well received by participants, and that it should adopt flexible modalities (e.g. writing or dictating a gratitude message) to ensure that it is feasible and adapted to individual needs and preferences. Conclusions Larger scale deployment and evaluation of the gratitude intervention, including a control group, is warranted in order to have a more reliable evaluation of its effectiveness in palliative care. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T15:05:08Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-631754feca1641d393232e35630f57f0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1472-684X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T15:05:08Z |
| publishDate | 2023-04-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Palliative Care |
| spelling | doaj.art-631754feca1641d393232e35630f57f02023-04-30T11:31:40ZengBMCBMC Palliative Care1472-684X2023-04-0122111310.1186/s12904-023-01172-xGiving and receiving thanks: a mixed methods pilot study of a gratitude intervention for palliative patients and their carersMathieu Bernard0Emmanuelle Poncin1Emilie Bovet2Emmanuel Tamches3Boris Cantin4Josiane Pralong5Gian Domenico Borasio6Palliative and Supportive Care Service, Lausanne University Hospital and University of LausannePalliative and Supportive Care Service, Lausanne University Hospital and University of LausanneHaute École de Santé Vaud (HESAV), Haute École Spécialisée de Suisse Occidentale (HES-SO)Palliative and Supportive Care Service, Lausanne University Hospital and University of LausannePalliative Care Center, Fribourg HospitalRive Neuve FoundationPalliative and Supportive Care Service, Lausanne University Hospital and University of LausanneAbstract Background Psychological research examining the nature and workings of gratitude has burgeoned over the past two decades. However, few studies have considered gratitude in the palliative care context. Based on an exploratory study which found that gratitude was correlated with better quality of life and less psychological distress in palliative patients, we designed and piloted a gratitude intervention where palliative patients and a carer of their choice wrote and shared a gratitude letter with each other. The aims of this study are to establish the feasibility and acceptability of our gratitude intervention and provide a preliminary assessment of its effects. Methods This pilot intervention study adopted a mixed-methods, concurrent nested, pre-post evaluation design. To assess the intervention’s effects, we employed quantitative questionnaires on quality of life, quality of relationship, psychological distress, and subjective burden, as well as semi-structured interviews. To assess feasibility, we considered patients and carers’ eligibility, participation and attrition rates, reasons for refusal to participate, appropriateness of intervention timeframe, modalities of participation, and barriers and facilitators. Acceptability was assessed through post-intervention satisfaction questionnaires. Results Thirty-nine participants completed the intervention and twenty-nine participated in interviews. We did not find any statistically significant pre/post intervention changes for patients, but found significant decrease in psychological distress for carers in terms of depression (median = 3 at T0, 1.5 at T1, p = .034) and total score (median = 13 at T0, 7.5 at T1, p = .041). Thematic analysis of interviews indicates that overall, the intervention had: (1) multiple positive outcomes for over a third of interviewees, in the form of positive emotional, cognitive, and relational effects; (2) single positive outcomes for nearly half of interviewees, who experienced emotional or cognitive effects; (3) no effect on two patients; and (4) negative emotional effects on two patients. Feasibility and acceptability indicators suggest that the intervention was well received by participants, and that it should adopt flexible modalities (e.g. writing or dictating a gratitude message) to ensure that it is feasible and adapted to individual needs and preferences. Conclusions Larger scale deployment and evaluation of the gratitude intervention, including a control group, is warranted in order to have a more reliable evaluation of its effectiveness in palliative care.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12904-023-01172-xGratitudePalliative careQuality of lifeQuality of relationshipPsychological distressMixed-methods |
| spellingShingle | Mathieu Bernard Emmanuelle Poncin Emilie Bovet Emmanuel Tamches Boris Cantin Josiane Pralong Gian Domenico Borasio Giving and receiving thanks: a mixed methods pilot study of a gratitude intervention for palliative patients and their carers BMC Palliative Care Gratitude Palliative care Quality of life Quality of relationship Psychological distress Mixed-methods |
| title | Giving and receiving thanks: a mixed methods pilot study of a gratitude intervention for palliative patients and their carers |
| title_full | Giving and receiving thanks: a mixed methods pilot study of a gratitude intervention for palliative patients and their carers |
| title_fullStr | Giving and receiving thanks: a mixed methods pilot study of a gratitude intervention for palliative patients and their carers |
| title_full_unstemmed | Giving and receiving thanks: a mixed methods pilot study of a gratitude intervention for palliative patients and their carers |
| title_short | Giving and receiving thanks: a mixed methods pilot study of a gratitude intervention for palliative patients and their carers |
| title_sort | giving and receiving thanks a mixed methods pilot study of a gratitude intervention for palliative patients and their carers |
| topic | Gratitude Palliative care Quality of life Quality of relationship Psychological distress Mixed-methods |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12904-023-01172-x |
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