Trial reportJournal of pain and symptom management2024
EMPOWER: A Multi-Site Pilot Trial to Reduce Distress in Surrogate Decision-Makers in the ICU.
Trial report in Journal of pain and symptom management, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 13 citations in OpenAlex.
- Characteristics and Effectiveness of Nurse-Led Family Communication Interventions in the ICU: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Critical care medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Interpersonal Predictors of Grief Among Caregivers of Persons With Dementia.The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry · 2026Trial
- Digital Reminiscence for Predeath Grief Among Family Caregivers of Patients With Dementia: A Pilot Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA network open · 2026Trial
- Non clinic-Based Interventions to Mitigate Post-Intensive Care Syndrome: A Scoping Review.Critical care explorations · 2026Article
- Evaluation of a Tablet-Based Emotion Regulation Intervention for Surrogate Decision-Makers of Patients With Critical Illness: Pilot Nonrandomized Trial.JMIR formative research · 2026Article
- Discharge Screening Predicts Persistent Parental Psychological Distress After Pediatric Critical Illness.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Cancer Prognostic Awareness: Relations to Patient and Caregiver Quality of Life and Care Preferences.Journal of pain and symptom management · 2025Article
- Empower-Grief for Relatives of Cancer Patients: Implementation and Findings from an Exploratory Randomized Controlled Trial.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Assessing Grief and Prolonged Grief Disorder: Can One Size Fit All?The Journal of nervous and mental disease · 2025Article
- Improving Outcomes for ICU Family Members: The Role of Spiritual Care.Journal of palliative medicine · 2025Review
- State of the Science: Psychotherapeutic Interventions for Prolonged Grief Disorder.Behavior therapy · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
22 authors at 9 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
contextEfforts to reduce the psychological distress of surrogate decision-makers of critically ill patients have had limited success, and some have even exacerbated distress.
objectivesThe aim of this study was to determine the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of EMPOWER (Enhancing and Mobilizing the POtential for Wellness and Resilience), an ultra-brief (∼2-hour), 6-module manualized psychological intervention for surrogates.
methodsSurrogates who reported significant anxiety and/or an emotionally close relationship with the patient (n=60) were randomized to receive EMPOWER or enhanced usual care (EUC) at one of three metropolitan hospitals. Participants completed evaluations of EMPOWER's acceptability and measures of psychological distress pre-intervention, immediately post-intervention, and at 1- and 3-month follow-up assessments.
resultsDelivery of EMPOWER appeared feasible, with 89% of participants completing all 6 modules, and acceptable, with high ratings of satisfaction (mean=4.5/5, SD = .90). Compared to EUC, intent-to-treat analyses showed EMPOWER was superior at reducing peritraumatic distress (Cohen's d = -0.21, small effect) immediately post-intervention and grief intensity (d = -0.70, medium-large effect), posttraumatic stress (d = -0.74, medium-large effect), experiential avoidance (d = -0.46, medium effect), and depression (d = -0.34, small effect) 3 months post-intervention. Surrogate satisfaction with overall critical care (d = 0.27, small effect) was higher among surrogates randomized to EMPOWER.
conclusionsEMPOWER appeared feasible and acceptable, increased surrogates' satisfaction with critical care, and prevented escalation of posttraumatic stress, grief, and depression 3 months later.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.