Search

Background: Family caregivers are central to the delivery of serious illness care and also have needs related to their role and experience. One aspect of the family caregiver quality of life (QOL) that has received less attention is caregiver spirituality. Objectives: The research objectives for this analysis were (1) Describe spirituality in oncology family caregivers. (2) Determine the impact of palliative care interventions on spirituality and related variables in oncology family caregivers. (3) Describe findings from the research literature related to spirituality in family caregivers. The authors include two nurse researchers (BF, TB) and a physician (MK) who conducted these studies and a board-certified chaplain (PG) who contributed his expertise in chaplaincy. Design: This study synthesized data from seven earlier studies by the investigators from their research in family caregiving and also compared findings to the literature. Setting/Subjects: Subjects were family caregivers ( n = 1039) of patients with cancer from studies conducted primarily in the Western United States. Measurements: The key spirituality instruments used were the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy tool and the City of Hope QOL tool. Results: Spirituality was identified as important to family caregivers and most caregivers reported a religious affiliation. Living with uncertainty was consistently reported as the worst aspect of QOL/spirituality. Having a sense of purpose and meaning was the highest rated area. Conclusions: The authors' research synthesis and the literature support the importance of additional research and clinical focus in family caregiver spirituality in serious illness care.

Background: Little is known about financial toxicity in early-phase clinical trial (EP-CT) participants. This study sought to describe financial toxicity in EP-CT participants and assess associations with patient characteristics and patient-reported outcomes (PROs)., Methods: Prospectively enrolled EP-CT participants from were followed from April 2021 through January 2023. Participants completed the Comprehensive Score for Financial Toxicity (<26 = financial toxicity) at time of treatment. Quality of life (QOL), symptoms, coping, and resource concerns were surveyed. Associations of financial toxicity with patient characteristics, PROs, and clinical outcomes were explored., Results: Of 261 eligible patients, 197 completed baseline assessments (75.5%, median age = 63.4 years [31.8-88.6], 57.4% female). Most common cancers were gastrointestinal (33.0%) and breast (20.8%). More than one third (34.0%) of patients reported financial toxicity. Patients with financial toxicity were more likely to be <65 years (70.2% vs 48.5%, p = .004), unemployed (45.5% vs 16.9%, p < .001), not have attended college (53.1% vs 26.4%, p = .002), and have income <$60,000 (59.7% vs 25.4%, p < .001). In adjusted models, patients with financial toxicity reported lower QOL (B = -6.66, p = .004) and acceptance (B = -0.78, p = .002), and increased self-blame (B = 0.87, p < .001). They were more likely to have concerns regarding housing (10.6% vs 2.3%, p = .025), bills (31.8% vs 3.8%, p < .001), food (9.1% vs 0.8%, p = .006), and employment (21.2% vs 1.5%, p < .001). There was no difference in time on trial (hazard ratio, 1.03; p = .860) or survival (hazard ratio, 1.16; p = .496)., Conclusions: More than one third of EP-CT participants reported financial toxicity. Factors associated with financial toxicity and demonstrated novel associations among financial toxicity with QOL, coping, and resource concerns were identified, highlighting the need to address financial toxicity among this population., (© 2024 American Cancer Society.)

Purpose: To understand multidisciplinary healthcare clinicians' meaningful and challenging experiences providing spiritual care to patients with cancer and their care partners., Methods: Multidisciplinary clinicians who participated in a communication training program supported by the National Cancer Institute or a palliative care training for nurses (N = 257) responded to two, open-ended questions about meaningful and challenging experiences of providing spiritual care. A thematic analysis of responses using an iterative, inductive approach was conducted until saturation was reached., Results: Participants from nursing (68%), social work (22%), and chaplaincy (10%) responded to open-ended survey questions. Three themes related to meaningful experiences of providing spiritual care emerged: building authentic interpersonal connection with patients and care partners; creating intentional space for patients and care partners to inform spiritual care; and actively supporting patients and care partners in their processes with spirituality. Three themes related to challenging experiences of providing spiritual care emerged: contextual factors and clinical circumstances complicate provision of spiritual care; facing barriers to providing high-quality, patient-centered care; and navigating ethical and logistical issues that affect spiritual and other care., Conclusion: Clinicians derive meaning from a range of experiences throughout their provision of spiritual care to patients with cancer. However, they also face many challenges in delivering person-centered spiritual care in cancer settings, with some challenges reflecting significant gaps in spiritual care knowledge and training. Findings can guide future training and educational endeavors for multidisciplinary clinicians in the domain of spiritual care., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Background: Spiritual care is a core component of high-quality palliative care, yet gaps exist in spiritual care provision. Understanding clinicians' levels of confidence around spiritual care and their perceptions of necessary knowledge/skills to enhance their ability to provide spiritual care is foundational for improving delivery of spiritual care in practice., Objectives: To understand confidence levels with providing spiritual care and perceived needs in relation to the provision of spiritual care among palliative clinicians (nurses, social workers, chaplains)., Design: N = 260 clinicians participating in interprofessional communication and end-of-life care training programs completed a structured survey., Measurements: Clinicians responded to 42 closed-ended questions assessing their confidence in engaging in spiritual care across 6 dimensions, and one open-ended question: "What areas of knowledge or skill would best help to improve your ability to provide spiritual care across diverse populations?", Results: Findings reveal varied levels of confidence with spiritual care across dimensions. Chaplains reported the highest levels of confidence compared with nurses and social workers. Key areas of knowledge/skills to improve spiritual care provision were: (1) Training and support for clinicians in spiritual care; (2) Strategies for providing spiritual care to patients from diverse cultural and/or religious backgrounds; (3) Better understanding of specific populations and contexts that may affect spiritual care provision; and (4) Clinicians' personal growth & practices to improve spiritual care., Conclusions: Additional support with spiritual care provision is needed, especially among spiritual care generalists. A focus on culturally attuned care is needed, honoring unique patient contexts and centering patient and family priorities., Competing Interests: Declaration of conflicting interestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Purpose: To provide evidence-based guidance to oncology clinicians, patients, nonprofessional caregivers, and palliative care clinicians to update the 2016 ASCO guideline on the integration of palliative care into standard oncology for all patients diagnosed with cancer., Methods: ASCO convened an Expert Panel of medical, radiation, hematology-oncology, oncology nursing, palliative care, social work, ethics, advocacy, and psycho-oncology experts. The Panel conducted a literature search, including systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and randomized controlled trials published from 2015-2023. Outcomes of interest included quality of life (QOL), patient satisfaction, physical and psychological symptoms, survival, and caregiver burden. Expert Panel members used available evidence and informal consensus to develop evidence-based guideline recommendations., Results: The literature search identified 52 relevant studies to inform the evidence base for this guideline., Recommendations: Evidence-based recommendations address the integration of palliative care in oncology. Oncology clinicians should refer patients with advanced solid tumors and hematologic malignancies to specialized interdisciplinary palliative care teams that provide outpatient and inpatient care beginning early in the course of the disease, alongside active treatment of their cancer. For patients with cancer with unaddressed physical, psychosocial, or spiritual distress, cancer care programs should provide dedicated specialist palliative care services complementing existing or emerging supportive care interventions. Oncology clinicians from across the interdisciplinary cancer care team may refer the caregivers (eg, family, chosen family, and friends) of patients with cancer to palliative care teams for additional support. The Expert Panel suggests early palliative care involvement, especially for patients with uncontrolled symptoms and QOL concerns. Clinicians caring for patients with solid tumors on phase I cancer trials may also refer them to specialist palliative care.Additional information is available at www.asco.org/supportive-care-guidelines.