Bringing Children into Focus in Adult Palliative Care: Pilot Evaluation of a Family Communication Educational Intervention
Arlen G. Gaines, Kenneth P. Tercyak, Kishon Chambers, Rachel AdamsBackground:
Dependent children’s support needs may be overlooked in adult palliative care, and clinicians report limited preparation for family communication.
Objective:
To develop and pilot an educational intervention to increase clinician self-efficacy in supporting families’ serious illness communication with dependent children.
Methods:
Interdisciplinary palliative care clinicians in one health system completed a 1-hour workshop and matched pre/postsurveys assessing four confidence domains. Changes among 20 matched respondents were analyzed with paired
Results:
Mean composite confidence increased from 5.2 to 6.6 (10-point scale). Confidence improved in identifying children’s needs (
Conclusion:
Brief, interdisciplinary training was associated with meaningful short-term confidence gains. Larger studies should assess sustained practice change and family outcomes.