What Difference do Chaplains Make: Analysis of Chaplain Interventions in Palliative Care in United Kingdom

NCT03746626 | Unknown DMC

• 1 other identifier: SHSC 18001
• Study Type: observational
• Target: 150
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Naturalistic pre-post survey design. People with palliative care needs referred to day care in participating hospices will be invited to participate in the study. Those consenting to take part will complete a baseline survey consisting of demographic data on age, gender, reason for admission and whether they self report as religious, spiritual, both, or neither. They also complete he Scottish Patient Reported Outcome Measure (PROM), a five item measure of spiritual outcome/well-being and a free text box. The patient then attends the day care for eight weeks, during which time they may see a chaplain regularly, infrequently, or not at all, entirely dependent on personal preference. The study is designed to be as naturalistic as possible. At the end of the 8 weeks patients complete a follow-up survey containing the same surveys as previous, plus four items about their experiences (or not) with the chaplain. During these eight weeks the chaplain also records the frequency and their interpretation of the depth of the visits with the patient. The primary purpose of the study is to explore the relationship between any change in Scottish PROM scores and the a) frequency and b) chaplain reported depth of the encounters. Secondary objectives are to examine the relationship between the change in PROM scores and the patient's experience of the chaplain interventions. It is hypothesised that the better the chaplain and/or patient self reported experience of the chaplain the greater the improvement in PROM scores. Whether there is any relationship between improvement in PROM scores and whether the patient self describes as religious, spiritual, both or neither will also be analysed.

Conditions

Spirituality; Palliative Care

Keywords

Spiritual care; Palliative care; Chaplain; Day care

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Scottish PROM

  The Scottish Patient Reported Outcome Measure is a five-item patient reported outcome measure of spiritual wellbeing. It generates a single score, minimum zero, maximum 20, representing spiritual wellbeing. The measure was validated to measure the impact of chaplain interventions. In a study of over 600 people who had seen a chaplain, scores ranged from 3 to 19, the mean was 12 and standard deviation 2.2. More work is required to calibrate the scale, but early indicators are positive in that scores appear normally distributed and the scale does not have ceiling or floor effects.

  baseline to follow-up = 8 weeks

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• EQ5D-3L

  baseline to follow-up = 8 weeks

Other Outcomes (2)

• 'Depth' of chaplain encounter as recorded by chaplain

  every week for 8 weeks

• Experience of chaplain encounter(s) as recalled by patient

  At week 8 for each participant

Study Arms (3)

Hospice 1

Strathcarron Hospice, Scotland. All consenting patients will either see chaplain or not as many times as per their choice, over eight week stay in day care at the hospice.

Behavioral: Chaplain visit

Hospice 2

Arthur Rank Hospice, England. All consenting patients will either see chaplain or not as many times as per their choice, over eight week stay in day care at the hospice.

Behavioral: Chaplain visit

Hospice 3

All consenting patients will either see chaplain or not as many times as per their choice, over eight week stay in day care at the hospice.

Behavioral: Chaplain visit

Interventions

Chaplain visit BEHAVIORAL

The patients will all see a chaplain routinely during 8-week stay according to their personal preference. The chaplain records the 'depth' and frequency of these encounters.

Hospice 1; Hospice 2; Hospice 3

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)
• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

People referred to day care at participating hospices. All will be invited to participate excepting criteria above

You may qualify if:

• Patient attending the day unit for minimum 8 weeks
• Aged 18 and over

You may not qualify if:

• Patient unable to consent.
• Under 18 years

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Edinburgh Napier University: lead
• Universitaire Ziekenhuizen KU Leuven: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Strathcarron Hospice

Denny, United Kingdom

RECRUITING

Related Publications (1)

• Snowden, A., Lobb, E. A., Schmidt, S., Swing, A., McFarlane, C., & Logan, P. (2018). What's on your mind? The only necessary question in spiritual care. Journal of the Study of Spirituality, 8(1), in press. http://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/20440243.2018.1431031

  BACKGROUND

Study Officials

• Austyn Snowden, PhD

  Edinburgh Napier University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Austyn Snowden, PhD

CONTACT

0044 7985 146116; a.snowden@napier.ac.uk

Anne Vandenhoeck, PhD

CONTACT

a.vandenhoeck@kuleuven.be

Study Design

• Study Type: observational
• Observational Model: COHORT
• Time Perspective: PROSPECTIVE
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Professor in Mental Health

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: November 13, 2018
• First Posted: November 20, 2018
• Study Start: January 18, 2019
• Primary Completion: December 31, 2019
• Study Completion: March 31, 2020
• Last Updated: January 22, 2019

Record last verified: 2019-01

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Shared Documents: STUDY PROTOCOL, SAP, ICF
• Time Frame: Supporting information available now.
• Access Criteria: Please contact Dr Paula Stevenson at p.stevenson@napier.ac.uk

Locations

GB (1)