Spiritual Care in Improving Quality of Life of Patients, Caregivers, and Hospital Staff

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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This clinical trial studies spiritual care in improving quality of life of patients, caregivers, and hospital staff. Spiritual care may help understand the impact cancer and its treatment has on patients, caregivers and hospital staff.

Detailed Description
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OBJECTIVES: I. To improve the quality of spiritual care provided by palliative care teams. II. To measure the effectiveness of integrating spiritual care recommendations in palliative care at City of Hope (COH) and the impact it has on cancer patients, families, and hospital staff. OUTLINE: The expanded psychosocial/spiritual assessment administered by social workers includes a spiritual history and a spiritual needs screening. Social worker knowledge and competence is surveyed at baseline, immediately after the course, and after a bedside chaplain-mentoring process. Inpatient cancer patients' and their caregivers' perceptions about spiritual care is surveyed at baseline prior to the social work curriculum and after the course has been completed and the new psychosocial/spiritual assessment has been implemented. Data collected from patients, family members, and staff includes number of unduplicated palliative care patients screened for spiritual concerns, spiritual history, number and type of spiritual issues, number of referrals to the chaplain, number seen by the chaplain, number of unduplicated palliative care patients with documented spiritual care plan, number of staff development sessions offered and topics, attendance per topic, advance directives, and referrals to hospice.

Official Title
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Archstone Spiritual Care Demonstration Project: Outcomes for Patients, Families, and Staff

Conditions
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Malignant Neoplasm

Intervention / Treatment
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* Procedure: spiritual therapy
* Other: questionnaire administration
* Other: survey administration
* Other: counseling intervention
* Other: psychosocial support for caregiver
* Procedure: psychosocial assessment and care


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Admitted during the study quarter Admitted >= 5 days English speaking Alert and able to answer questions Exclusion Criteria: Non-cancer diagnosis Previously accrued to study

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 18 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
Intervention Model: Single Group Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: Supportive care (spiritual care)<br>See Detailed Description. | Procedure: spiritual therapy<br>* Undergo palliative spiritual care<br>* Other names: spirituality;Other: questionnaire administration<br>* Ancillary studies<br>Other: survey administration<br>* Ancillary studies<br>Other: counseling intervention<br>* Undergo palliative spiritual care<br>* Other names: counseling and communications studies;Other: psychosocial support for caregiver<br>* Undergo palliative spiritual care<br>Procedure: psychosocial assessment and care<br>* Undergo palliative spiritual care<br>* Other names: psychosocial studies;|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Change over time in number of unduplicated palliative care patients screened for spiritual concerns and spiritual history | Nonparametric Mann-Whitney University test will be used to test for differences between cohorts of patients and of families at the two different measurement points. The Wilcoxon paired nonparametric test will be used to test for change over time for staff survey results. | At baseline and quarterly for one year | 
| Change over time in number and type of spiritual issues | Nonparametric Mann-Whitney University test will be used to test for differences between cohorts of patients and of families at the two different measurement points. The Wilcoxon paired nonparametric test will be used to test for change over time for staff survey results. | At baseline and quarterly for one year | 
| Change over time in number of referrals to the chaplain and number seen by the chaplain | Nonparametric Mann-Whitney University test will be used to test for differences between cohorts of patients and of families at the two different measurement points. The Wilcoxon paired nonparametric test will be used to test for change over time for staff survey results. | At baseline and quarterly for one year | 
| Change over time in number of unduplicated palliative care patients with documented spiritual care plan | Nonparametric Mann-Whitney University test will be used to test for differences between cohorts of patients and of families at the two different measurement points. The Wilcoxon paired nonparametric test will be used to test for change over time for staff survey results. | At baseline and quarterly for one year | 
| Change over time in number of staff development sessions offered and topics, attendance per topic, advance directives, and referrals to hospice | Nonparametric Mann-Whitney University test will be used to test for differences between cohorts of patients and of families at the two different measurement points. The Wilcoxon paired nonparametric test will be used to test for change over time for staff survey results. | At baseline and quarterly for one year | 
| Identification of common themes and patterns that answer the key evaluation questions | Analyzed using Atlas.ti. coding and analysis. Qualitative data, e.g., open ended questions, included narrative responses by staff summarized for reporting purposes. | At baseline and quarterly for one year |