ORCID

https://orcid.org/0009-0008-3085-3895

Date of Award

2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

MA in Psychology

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Elizabeth Brondolo

Second Advisor

Wilson McDermut

Abstract

End-of-life (EOL) care refers to the medical, emotional, and practical support provided to individuals who are nearing the end of their lives. Goals of care (GOC) discussions involve physician exploration of patient beliefs and values, though they do not need to be primarily focused on end-of-life health-care decisions. Engaging in EOL/GOC conversations has been linked to increased quality of life, decreased healthcare costs, and more frequently receiving care in line with patient preferences. Barriers to these discussions occurring exist at both the clinician-level (e.g., inadequate communications training) and the patient-level (e.g., heightened death anxiety). This study aimed to determine if healthcare professionals who participated in the GOComm educational intervention improved their distress intolerance as a result of completing the workshop and if participants’ level of education had an impact on the degree to which distress intolerance improved. We collected data from 165 healthcare providers (HCPs). Most participants were practicing professionals from various disciplines (67.3%) with a smaller proportion of the sample were residents in training (29.7%). GOComm integrated didactic and experiential training into 4-hour workshops consisting of small groups of interprofessional teams led by trained facilitators. The curriculum covers topics ranging from using empathy when delivering bad news to asking open-ended questions when exploring patients’ values, beliefs, and preferences. We performed pre- and post-test surveys for mixed-method program evaluation. Participants reported demographic, education, and training information, and their distress intolerance and self-efficacy related to EOL/GOC discussions were evaluated. Completion of GOComm was linked to significant improvements in both distress intolerance and self-efficacy. No significant relationship was found between participants’ level of professional experience and the degree to which their distress intolerance or self-efficacy improved. There were also no significant differences found in baseline distress intolerance or baseline self-efficacy as a function of level of professional experience. The results of the GOComm workshop indicate that it is possible to improve both healthcare workers' distress intolerance and self-efficacy related to GOC discussions, thereby lessening some of the barriers preventing the initiation of these critical conversations, and hopefully leading to more patients receiving the benefit of GOC conversations have to offer.

Download

Included in

Psychology Commons

Share

COinS