Can a Palliative Care Team Help Families Cope?

Credit: healthdirect.gov.au

Over the last several years, healthcare providers have used palliative care to treat pain and discomfort in patients with serious illnesses. Unlike curative care, which aims to make the person “well,” the goal of palliative care is to make patients and their loved ones more comfortable. Palliative care can also help families of seriously ill patients cope with difficult news and surrogate decision making.  This type of palliative care is usually delivered in a hospital, where the patient, family, and palliative care team only meet a few times.

Most healthcare professionals believe that palliative care can ease the stress of patients and their families. But that assumption is challenged in a recent study reported in Kaiser Health News.

For the study, researchers divided the families of ICU patients into two groups. One group met only with ICU staff. The other group met with both ICU staff and a palliative care team. The team consisted of a doctor, a nurse practitioner and, sometimes, a social worker or chaplain. The team offered families additional information and emotional support.

Symptoms of PTSD 

After three months, the researchers interviewed the families. They found no significant differences in the level of anxiety or depression in the two groups. However, some families who met with the palliative care team showed increased symptoms of post-traumatic stress.

When commenting on this result, the researchers said, “When informal support provided by the primary team is sufficient, additional focus on prognosis may not help and could further upset an emotional family.”

Credit: RN.com

The researchers also suggested that families who were having trouble making decisions for their loved ones would benefit from the services of a palliative team with the skill and training to help.

Dr. Joe Rotella, the chief medical officer at the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, echoes this sentiment. He believes those families who disagree about goals of care will benefit the most from the involvement of a palliative care team. Rotella also notes that providers can engage the help of a palliative care chaplain for families who are experiencing grave emotional or spiritual distress.

“If we’re there to take care of whole human beings and their loved ones, we have to recognize that suffering is more than just physical,” Rotella said.