Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38486192›Full record

Trial reportBMC palliative care2024

Effects of dignity therapy on psychological distress and wellbeing of palliative care patients and family caregivers - a randomized controlled study.

Annina Seiler, Manuel Amann, Caroline Hertler, Sebastian M Christ, Markus Schettle, Barbara Meier Kaeppeli, Judith Jung-Amstutz, Christel Nigg, Bernhard C Pestalozzi, Patrick Imesch and 3 more

Registry-linked trialOpen access · goldAbstract readRandomized Controlled TrialMulticenter Study
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in BMC palliative care, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT02646527 (Dignity Therapy+), which is not on this map. Cited by 21 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
21citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
17.9field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

NCT02646527 nacompletednot on this map

Dignity Therapy+: a Brief Psychological and Existential Intervention for Dying Patients and Their Families. A Randomized Controlled Trial

TypeinterventionalSponsorUniversity of ZurichRan2016 to 2022Enrolled80ConditionsPalliative CareArmsDignity Therapy
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

21 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 33 citations in OpenAlex.

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  20. [Loneliness at the end of life].Bundesgesundheitsblatt, Gesundheitsforschung, Gesundheitsschutz · 2024
    Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Annina SeilerDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Competence Center for Palliative Care, University Hospital Zurich and University of Zurich, Rämistrasse 100, 8091, Zurich, Switzerland. annina.seiler@usz.ch.
Manuel AmannDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Competence Center for Palliative Care, University Hospital Zurich and University of Zurich, Rämistrasse 100, 8091, Zurich, Switzerland.
Caroline HertlerDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Competence Center for Palliative Care, University Hospital Zurich and University of Zurich, Rämistrasse 100, 8091, Zurich, Switzerland.
Sebastian M ChristDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Competence Center for Palliative Care, University Hospital Zurich and University of Zurich, Rämistrasse 100, 8091, Zurich, Switzerland.
Markus SchettleDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Competence Center for Palliative Care, University Hospital Zurich and University of Zurich, Rämistrasse 100, 8091, Zurich, Switzerland.
Barbara Meier KaeppeliDepartment of Gynecology, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Judith Jung-AmstutzDepartment of Gynecology, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Christel NiggKlinik Susenberg, Zurich, Switzerland.
Bernhard C PestalozziDepartment of Medical Oncology and Hematology, University Hospital Zurich and University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Patrick ImeschDepartment of Gynecology, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Reinhard DummerDepartment of Dermatology, University Hospital Zurich and University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
David Blum *Department of Radiation Oncology, Competence Center for Palliative Care, University Hospital Zurich and University of Zurich, Rämistrasse 100, 8091, Zurich, Switzerland.
Josef Jenewein *Privatklinik Hohenegg, Meilen, Switzerland.
University of Zurich · CHUniversity Hospital of Zurich · CHBerner Augenklinik am Lindenhofspital · CH

Funding

Swiss Cancer League KFS-4413-02-2018
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThis study extended the original Dignity Therapy (DT) intervention by including partners and family caregivers (FCs) of terminally-ill cancer patients with the overall aim of evaluating whether DT can mitigate distress in both patients nearing the end of life and their FCs.

methodsIn this multicenter, randomized controlled trial (RCT), a total of 68 patients with life expectancy < 6 months and clinically-relevant stress levels (Hospital Anxiety Depression total score; HADS

resultsThe coalesced group (DT and DT +) revealed a significant increase in patients' perceived quality of life (FACIT-Pal-14) following the intervention (mean difference 6.15, SD = 1.86, p < 0.01). We found a statistically significant group-by-time interaction effect: while the HADS

conclusionsThe DT intervention has been well-received and shows the potential to increase HRQoL and prevent further mental health deterioration, illness burden and suffering in terminally-ill patients. The DT intervention holds the potential to serve as a valuable tool for facilitating end-of-life conversations among terminally-ill patients and their FCs. However, the implementation of DT within the framework of a RCT in a palliative care setting poses significant challenges. We suggest a slightly modified and less resource-intensive version of DT that is to provide the DT inventory to FCs of terminally-ill patients, empowering them to ask the questions that matter most to them over their loved one's final days.

trial registrationThis study was registered with Clinical Trial Registry (ClinicalTrials.gov -Protocol Record NCT02646527; date of registration: 04/01/2016). The CONSORT 2010 guidelines were used for properly reporting how the randomized trial was conducted.

Indexed as

Psychological DistressTerminal CareCaregiversDeathDignity TherapyHumansPalliative CareTerminally IllDignity therapyFamily caregiversPalliative carePatientsPsychological distress

Identifiers

PMID38486192
PMCPMC10938771
OpenAlexW4392811388

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

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.