Search

Abstract Objectives Intervention fidelity is imperative to ensure confidence in study results and intervention replication in research and clinical settings. Like many brief protocol psychotherapies, Dignity Therapy lacks sufficient evidence of intervention fidelity. To overcome this gap, our study purpose was to examine intervention fidelity among therapists trained with a systematized training protocol. Methods For preliminary fidelity evaluation in a large multi-site stepped wedge randomized controlled trial, we analyzed 46 early transcripts of interviews from 10 therapists (7 female; 7 White, 3 Black). Each transcript was evaluated with the Revised Dignity Therapy Adherence Checklist for consistency with the Dignity Therapy protocol in terms of its Process (15 dichotomous items) and Core Principles (6 Likert-type items). A second rater independently coded 26% of the transcripts to assess interrater reliability. Results Each therapist conducted 2 to 10 interviews. For the 46 scored transcripts, the mean Process score was 12.4/15 (SD = 1.2), and the mean Core Principles score was 9.9/12 (SD = 1.8) with 70% of the transcripts at or above the 80% fidelity criterion. Interrater reliability (Cohen’s kappa and weighted kappa) for all Adherence Checklist items ranged between .75 and 1.0. For the Core Principles items, Cronbach’s alpha was .92. Conclusions Preliminary findings indicate that fidelity to Dignity Therapy delivery was acceptable for most transcripts and provide insights for improving consistency of intervention delivery. The systematized training protocol and ongoing monitoring with the fidelity audit tool will facilitate consistent intervention delivery and add to the literature about fidelity monitoring for brief protocol psychotherapeutic interventions.

Abstract Background The lack of a holistic approach to palliative care can lead to a fractured sense of dignity at the end of life, resulting in depression, hopelessness, feelings of being a burden to others, and the loss of the will to live among terminally ill patients. Building on the clinical foundation of Dignity Therapy, together with the empirical understanding of dignity-related concerns of Asian families facing terminal illness, a novel Family Dignity Intervention (FDI) has been developed for Asian palliative care. FDI comprises a recorded interview with a patient and their primary family caregiver, which is transcribed, edited into a legacy document, and returned to the dyads for sharing with the rest of the patient’s family. The aims of this study are to assess the feasibility, acceptability and potential effectiveness of FDI in reducing psychosocial, emotional, spiritual, and psychophysiological distress in community-dwelling and in-patient, Asian, older terminally ill patients and their families living in Singapore. Methods/design An open-label randomized controlled trial. One hundred and twenty-six patient-family dyads are randomly allocated to one of two groups: (1) an intervention group (FDI offered in addition to standard psychological care) and (2) a control group (standard psychological care). Both quantitative and qualitative outcomes are assessed in face-to-face interviews at baseline, 3 days and 2 weeks after intervention, as well as during an exit interview with family caregivers at 2 months post bereavement. Primary outcome measures include sense of dignity for patients and psychological distress for caregivers. Secondary outcomes include meaning in life, quality of life, spirituality, hopefulness, perceived support, and psychophysiological wellbeing, as well as bereavement outcomes for caregivers. Qualitative data are analyzed using the Framework method. Discussion To date, there is no available palliative care intervention for dignity enhancement in Asia. This first-of-its-kind study develops and tests an evidence-based, family driven, psycho-socio-spiritual intervention for enhancing dignity and wellbeing among Asian patients and families facing mortality. It addresses a critical gap in the provision of holistic palliative care. The expected outcomes will contribute to advancements in both theories and practices of palliative care for Singapore and its neighboring regions while serving to inform similar developments in other Asian communities. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov, ID: NCT03200730 . Registered on 26 June 2017.