Some observers have proposed that physicians may die differently compared with the average patient. Semi-structured interviews with family members of physicians who died offer an opportunity to better understand how patient preferences and wishes are perceived and acted on by family members at the end of life. The decision-making experiences of these family members for a loved one who was a physician may have implications for the lay person at end of life.

The Johns Hopkins Precursors Study includes individuals who matriculated into the graduating classes of 1948 to 1964 of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. From this cohort, we interviewed 26 family members of physicians who died. Interviews were coded and analyzed using a comparative, iterative process.

We found that family members of physicians who died described the uncertainty at end of life. This overarching theme was organized into the following: (a) the certainty of uncertainty; (b) the preparation for uncertainty; and (c) brokering of decisions in the face of uncertainty. Despite careful end-of-life preparation by well-informed physicians, family members were still left to broker decisions as they navigated the wishes of the physician and what the family and medical care team believed to be in the best interest of the physician.

Our findings suggest that our family members were not immune to uncertainty. The clinical momentum at the end of life may contribute to challenges faced by patients and family members when brokering decisions. Normalizing uncertainty in medical training and for families may aid in addressing the stress of uncertainty at end of life.

There is a growing consensus that patient-centered care is more effective in treating patients than a strictly biomedical model, where there are known challenges to involving the patient in assessments, treatment goals, and determining preferred outcomes.

The current study seeks to integrate patient values and perspectives by exploring how people diagnosed with a life-limiting disease define healing in their own words.

As a part of a larger study that included cognitive interviewing, we asked the question “what does the word healing mean to you?” Data were collected during face-to-face interviews with patients from three metropolitan healthcare facilities.

Thirty participants responded to the question “what does healing mean to you?” Seven themes were identified through the data analysis. These themes include acceptance, feeling better, pain, social support, process, religion/spirituality, and make whole. The feeling better, pain, and process themes have subthemes.

Probing to understand patient perspectives and how to provide a holistic approach to care is essential to patient treatment. Patients defined healing in a broader way than how it is typically defined in literature. The patients’ definitions provide greater insight into perceptions and expectations regarding the healing process.

Final conversations (FCs) go beyond how patients want to be cared for at the end of life (EOL) and focus on messages of love, identity specific, and unique to an individual and relationship that requires self-examination, everyday talk that normalizes a difficult situation, religious/spiritual messages, and if needed, difficult relationship talk to heal broken relationships. The purpose of the Catalyzing Relationships at the End of Life (CAREol) program was to provide interdisciplinary education to nursing and medical students and clinical faculty about facilitating FCs among patients and families.

This two-part, quasi-experimental program consisted of a cognitive (online) and experiential (live simulation) curriculum experience. Program curriculum, including video vignettes, readings, and live simulation (utilizing actors), was developed by the study team. Reflective journaling and researcher designed pre- and post-tests were used to assess comfort, confidence, importance, and distress regarding FCs and collaboration with other disciplines.

The pre-/post-test questions demonstrate statistical significance based on a paired t-test with effect sizes supporting the practical importance of the findings for effect size. Preliminary content and thematic analysis of qualitative responses describe categories of the mock team meeting experience and interaction with the actors to change patient and family outcomes.

Early intervention with the CAREol program provides a framework to help students and clinical faculty facilitate FCs that may result in peace and comfort for patients and families during a difficult time.

The absence of a specific tool to evaluate the impact of supportive care in general and socioesthetics (SE) in particular is undoubtedly at the origin of the lack of published research based on scientific standards.

We developed a supportive-care, patient-reported outcome questionnaire using the multistep methods, following COSMIN recommendations.

The Patient Centricity Questionnaire (PCQ) was developed using the standardized methodology for designing patient-reported outcome (PRO) questionnaires according to the following steps: elaboration of the questionnaire, measurement properties of the questionnaire, internal and external validation, test–retest validation and translation, cross-cultural adaptation, and cognitive debriefing. A multidisciplinary work group was designed including professionals, such as physicians, public health experts, sociologists, supportive-care experts, and socioestheticians.

Our questionnaire includes 11 items. It is scored by adding each Visual Analogue Scale [VAS], making it range from 0 to 110, with a higher benefit when the score is higher. The Cronbach's α coefficient is 0.88 for the entire questionnaire. As the questionnaire is a reflection of the patient's feelings, it is quite natural that the name “Patient Centricity Questionnaire” (PCQ) was retained and validated by the Scientific Committee. The PCQ correlated negatively and moderately with the Perceived Stress Scale [PSS], positively and moderately with the mental dimension of the Short Form-12, and poorly with the Well Beng 12 [WB12], the physical dimension of the SF-12, and the satisfaction VAS.

Constructed according to the recommendations, the PCQ meets the prerequisite for this type of questionnaire. Its short format and simplicity of use allow it to be used by a large number of people. The PCQ is a simple, reliable, easy-to-use, and validated tool for research teams, making it possible for randomized studies to prove the impact of supportive care in general and SE in particular, on the patient's quality of life.

Voluntary assisted dying (VAD) was legalized in Victoria, Australia, in June 2019. Victoria was the first jurisdiction in the world to require doctors to undertake training before providing VAD. This study examines data from doctors who completed the mandatory training in the first 2 years of the VAD system's operation (up to 30 June 2021). It describes the doctors who are undertaking VAD training, their post-training attitudes toward VAD participation, and their experiences of the mandatory training.

Through the online training, doctors completed a short demographic survey and undertook formal assessment of knowledge (90% pass mark). They also were invited to complete an optional survey evaluating the training.

In total, 289 doctors passed the training, most commonly males (56%) aged 36–65 years (82%) from an urban location (72%). Most were more than 10 years post fellowship (68%) and practising as general practitioners (51%) or medical oncologists (16%). The training most commonly took 6 h (range 2 h to over 9 h). Most doctors passed the assessment at the first (65%) or second (19%) attempt. Almost all participants (97%) found the training helpful or very helpful and most reported being confident or very confident in their knowledge (93%) and application (88%) of the VAD legislation.

Doctors reported the training was helpful and improved their confidence in knowing the law and applying it in clinical practice. The profile of trained doctors (particularly their location and specialty) suggests continued growth of participating doctors is needed to facilitate patient access to VAD. It is important that this safeguard does not discourage doctors’ participation.

The mutual influence between end-of-life cancer patients and their family caregivers is widely endorsed. The present study aimed to explore the relationship between end-of-life cancer patients’ dignity-related distress and the distress of their caregivers.

A cross-sectional approach was used. The sample consisted of 128 patients with a Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS) below 50 and a life expectancy of a few weeks, and their family caregivers. Personal and clinical data were collected and validated rating scales were administered: Patient Dignity Inventory (PDI) to terminal cancer patients; Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Demoralization Scale (DS), Herth Hope Index (HHI), Caregiver Reaction Assessment (CRA), Short Form Health Survey 36 (SF-36), and Distress Thermometer (DT) to caregivers.

Findings highlighted significant correlations between patients’ scores on the Psychological Distress PDI subscale and the PDI Total Score and caregivers’ Emotional Role. Patients’ Psychological Distress, PDI Total Score, and Loss of Purpose and Meaning were associated with caregivers’ Disrupted Schedule. Finally, patients’ Physical Symptoms and Dependency, Loss of Purpose and Meaning, and PDI Total Score were correlated with caregivers’ Disheartenment.

The results highlighted the key role of dignity as a relational dimension during the end-of-life phase. Therefore, because of caregivers’ distress could affect patients’ dignity-related distress by influencing the interpersonal aspects of patients’ autonomy, it would be important to relieve caregivers’ distress in order to promote patients’ autonomy and minimize their fear of being a burden.

This study aims to (i) develop a screening tool for determining distress and supportive care needs of adolescent and young adult cancer patients (AYAs) based on the NCCN's Distress Thermometer and Problem List (DTPL), (ii) evaluate its feasibility, discriminant validity, and test–retest reliability in clinical settings, and (iii) report prevalence of distress and unmet needs.

In the development phase, after translation of the Japanese version of the DTPL (DTPL-J) from English into Japanese and back translation, cognitive debriefing was performed. Items in the problem list were modified to better reflect AYAs’ concerns after interviews. The modified items were reviewed and accepted unanimously by healthcare professionals. In the feasibility phase, the DTPL-J for AYAs was used in a clinical setting for 3 months. Descriptive statistics of participants’ demographics, selected items, and DT scores were calculated to report prevalence of distress and unmet needs. Response and referral rates to experts were assessed to evaluate feasibility. Some items were compared with patient demographics to assess discriminant validity. Among the patients who responded at least twice, correlations between two consecutive screenings were assessed to evaluate test–retest reliability.

The DTPL-J consisted of 49 items in five categories. Of 251 patients, 232 (92.4%) were provided the DTPL-J and 230 (91.6%) responded. Based on the DT cutoff of ≥4, 69 of 230 patients (30%) had high distress. Anxiety (n = 85, 36.6%) was the most commonly selected item. Primary nurses referred 45 (21.7%) patients to an attending physician or another expert. Referral rates after DTPL-J use were higher than rates before use, but the difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.06). The items compared were consistent with their social background. A positive correlation was observed between two responses for some items.

The feasibility, discriminant validity, and test–retest reliability of the tool were suggested.

This study is aimed to perform the translation and cultural adaptation of the Neonatal Palliative Care Attitude Scale (NiPCAS) and evaluation of its psychometric properties with Portuguese neonatal nurses.

The research started with a scoping review that allowed the identification of the NiPCAS. It was a methodological study with a quantitative approach. The semantic equivalence of the items was adjusted with the participation of 20 neonatal nurse experts. They performed facial and quantitative content validation. Psychometric validation of the NiPCAS was performed on a nonprobability nurses sample (n = 283) in 13 level 3 neonatal units between July 2021 and February 2022. Confirmatory factor analysis using the polychoric correlation matrix was performed to estimate factor validity using the “lavaan” package for R statistical software. Internal consistency was estimated using Cronbach's alpha coefficient, and item sensitivity was assessed using the asymmetry and kurtosis coefficients. Empirical indices were considered: chi-square over degrees of freedom; comparative fit index; normed fit index; Tucker–Lewis index, and root mean square error of approximation; average extracted variance and composite reliability were used to assess convergent validity.

Asymmetry and kurtosis were <|3| and <|7|, respectively, suggesting psychometric sensitivity. The convergent validity of the factors was: F1, FCF1 = 0.90 and for F2, FCF2 = 0.80, and a lower value for F3, FCF3 = 0.40. According to the squared correlation criterion average variance extracted (AVE) between the factors, there was no discriminant validity for F1 and F2, but there was discriminant validity for F1, F3, F2, and F3.

This instrument has implications for providing end-of-life care to newborns and their families. The use of this instrument reveals several barriers and facilitating elements inherent in the organization and culture of the facility and nursing education.

Families bereaved following Medical Aid in Dying (MAID)-related death express concerns about public stigma. As access to MAID expands, research examining MAID is needed, including understanding stigma toward family members. This study examines if stigmatization exists toward bereaved individuals whose family member utilized MAID at differing ages and assess if expectations of grief differ between bereaved individuals whose family member utilized MAID compared to bereaved individuals whose family member died of an illness.

This study utilized a randomized, between-groups, vignette-based experiment to test the effects of cause of death (MAID vs. illness-related death) and age (28, 38, 70, and 80 years) of the deceased on indicators of public stigma. Participants (N = 428) were recruited from mTURK (Mage = 42.54; SDage = 16.50).

Analyses showed a statistically significant interaction between age and the mode of death (F(7, 400), p = 0.001, $\eta _{\rm p}^2$ = 0.06) and the main effect for age (F(5, 401), p = 0.004, $\eta _{\rm p}^2$ = 0.04) on expectations of grief, whereas emotional reactions and wanting social distance were not significant (p > 0.05). Participants expected more maladaptive grief among family members of 28- and 70-year-olds who died of illness compared to 28- or 38-year-olds who utilized MAID [28-year-old (M = 44.12, SD = 12.03) or 70-year-old (M = 44.32, SD = 10.29) illness-related death vs. 28-year-old (M = 39.3, SD = 11.56; p = 0.01) or 38-year-old (M = 38.71, SD = 11.56; p = 0.007) MAID-related death].

Findings suggest that direct stigma does not exist toward family members of individuals engaging in MAID. The American public may expect that family members of young individuals who utilize MAID are accepting of the death and expect them to experience fewer maladaptive grief symptoms. Future research should investigate differences in bereavement outcomes based on age of bereaved caregivers of individuals engaging in MAID.

This study aimed to explore in a naturalistic, real-life setting the dynamics of trust in oncological consultations.

Cases to study were purposively selected from a data set of audio-recorded and transcribed consultations between oncology physicians and patients with advanced cancer, and analyzed qualitatively. The analytical approach was deductive, relying on a thematic framework of dimensions of trust, and inductive, not restricted by this framework.

The multiple case study approach allowed to identify factors, which play a role in the dynamics of trust. These factors are the number of treating physicians and how they communicate, continuity of care and the capital of trust, the hierarchical position of the physician and the physician's self-trust, and the patient's personality.

The findings illustrate the importance to contextualize trust in the flow of oncological consultations and to conceive it comprehensively for each singular encounter between patients and clinicians.

This systematic literature review aimed to critically appraise empirical evidence investigating palliative care (PC) nurses’ experiences of stress, anxiety, and burnout.

Six databases (PsycINFO, MEDLINE, Scopus, CINAHL, PubMed, and Web of Science) covering literature within psychology, medicine and healthcare, and social sciences were searched from inception until December 2020. Studies were eligible if they included qualitative literature reporting on experiences of nurses working in a PC setting of stress, anxiety, or burnout, and were published in English. Eighteen studies satisfied the review's inclusion criteria and were considered relevant to the review aims. Critical appraisal was undertaken using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme Qualitative Checklist.

Thematic synthesis identified three main themes: When work becomes personal, The burden on mind and body, and Finding meaning and connection. The findings suggested that stress, anxiety, and burnout are deeply personal feelings experienced by nurses both on an emotional and physical level. Additionally, PC nurses’ experiences can differ in meaning and strength depending on their relationships with patients, patients’ families, and colleagues.

The synthesis highlighted that PC nurses' experiences are complex, encompassing clinical and organizational challenges, and the personal impact their work has on them. Having a greater understanding of the factors that contribute to PC nurses’ experiences may help in PC nurses’ core training and continuing professional education, as well as the provision of effective supervision and staff support.

This study is aimed to evaluate the validity and reliability of the Cancer Stigma Scale for the Turkish population (CASS-T).

The sample of the study consisted of 412 students of a foundation university located in Ankara, Turkey. The reliability of the CASS was evaluated using the Cronbach alpha reliability coefficient and item-total score correlations. Exploratory factor analyses were applied to examine the factor structure of the scale and its construct validity. To test the time invariance of the scale, the relationships between the scores obtained from the first and second applications were examined using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC).

The Cronbach's alpha coefficient of CASS-T was 0.83. In the factor analysis, it was confirmed that the scale has a six-dimensional structure in parallel to original version, namely Avoidance, Severity, Responsibility, Policy opposition, Awkwardness, and Discrimination. The ICC values all remained in the range that indicates the reliability of the 0.63–0.71 to be substantial. The contribution of the six factors of the CASS-T scale to the variance is 57.8.

The Turkish version of the CASS was confirmed to have good reliability and validity for evaluating stigma toward cancer in Turkish society.

Fatigue is frequently co-existing with other symptoms and is highly prevalent among patients with cancer and geriatric population. There was a lack of knowledge that focus on fatigue clusters in older adults with cancer in hospice care.

To identify fatigue-related symptom clusters in older adult hospice patients and discover to what extent fatigue-related symptom clusters predict functional status while controlling for depression.

This was a cross-sectional study in a sample of 519 older adult hospice patients with cancer, who completed the Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale, the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression, Boston Short Form Scale, and the Palliative Performance Scale. Data from a multi-center symptom trial were extracted for this secondary analysis using exploratory factor analysis and hierarchical multiple regression analysis.

Data from 519 patients (78 ± 7 years) with terminal cancer who received hospice care under home healthcare services revealed that 39% of the participants experienced fatigue-related symptom clusters (lack of energy, feeling drowsy, and lack of appetite). The fatigue cluster was significantly associated positively with depression (r = 0.253, p < 0.01), and negatively with functional status (r = −0.117, p < 0.01) and was a strong predictor of participants’ low functional status. Furthermore, depression made a significant contribution to this predictive relationship.

Older adult hospice patients with cancer experienced various concurrent symptoms. The fatigue-specific symptom cluster was identified significantly associated with depression and predicted functional status. Fatigue should be routinely monitored in older adults, especially among hospice cancer patients, to help reduce psychological distress and prevent functional decline.

The primary objective of this study was to co-design and conduct a pilot evaluation of a novel, immersive virtual reality (VR) experience for procedural pain and anxiety in an Australian healthcare setting. The secondary objective was to identify key parameters that can facilitate the development and implementation of VR experiences in clinical practice.

A qualitative, Design Box method was selected for co-design. It was used with adult burns survivors and adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with cancer, and healthcare professionals from these fields to identify the practical and design parameters required for the application of VR technology within the clinical setting. Results informed the development of the VR experience that was evaluated by consumers and healthcare professionals, who completed qualitative surveys. Thematic analysis was conducted on co-design notes and survey data.

Procedural pain and management was a challenge for both cohorts, but particularly the burns cohort. Anxiety was significant challenge for both cohorts. Boredom and quality of life was a significant challenge, particularly for the AYA oncology cohort. These results informed the development of “A Wanderers Tale,” an Australiana-themed, gaze-controlled VR application for Oculus Quest platforms. Thematic analysis results suggest that cultural preferences, procedural contexts of use, and agency through customization and interaction are three parameters to consider when creating or selecting VR experiences for application in health.

This work describes a novel method for the use VR as an adjuvant pain management tool in patients with burns and cancer. The VR experience may provide a culturally, practice and procedure-appropriate tool in comparable settings of care. The study also describes interdisciplinary co-design and evaluation approaches that can help maximize the use of VR to improve healthcare approaches that address clinical challenges in pain, anxiety, and quality of life for patients while in hospital.

Family members are often involved in the provision of care to a relative at some point in their life. Their role becomes inherently complex when their care recipient is interested in seeking medical assistance in dying (MAID). As assisted death for “grievous and irremediable conditions” was legalized in Canada in 2016, the perspectives of family caregivers have received little attention. To best support caregivers to individuals seeking assisted dying, healthcare practitioners must first understand the perspectives of family caregivers in this context. The objective of this qualitative study was to explore the experiences and support needs of family caregivers who are or who have provided care to individuals who are seeking or have sought MAID.

This study employed a qualitative descriptive design. Family caregivers supporting individuals living with grievous and irremediable conditions were recruited through social media outlets and support organizations. Data were collected through semi-structured telephone interviews and online surveys. Data were transcribed and analyzed using thematic analysis.

The study included 11 participants, comprising spouses, parents, and adult children. The research identified three prevalent themes: the caregiver experience including roles and responsibilities and the impact of their role; the MAID experience including the process and their thoughts and feelings about MAID; and caregiver insight into supports and services viewed as valuable or needed for the MAID process.

Study findings may assist in the provision and development of best practice resources and guidelines to support healthcare professionals involved in the delivery of MAID. Specifically, caregivers need to be supported in the context of their caregiving responsibilities to minimize the impact on their own lives and optimize their MAID experience.

Dignity therapy (DT) is a brief psychotherapeutic intervention with beneficial effects in the end-of-life experience. Since it provides a continuing bond between the bereaved and their loved ones, we speculated that it could be offered as a novel bereavement intervention following the patient's death. We aimed to develop, translate, and validate the Posthumous DT Schedule of Questions (p-DT-SQ), for administration with bereaved relatives or friends.

The original DT-SQ was adapted for application with bereaved relatives or friends. It was translated and back-translated to European Portuguese and revised by an expert committee. Content validity was assessed by the Content Validity Coefficient (CVC). The instrument was tested in a sample of 50 individuals from a large Senior Residence in Lisbon (10 elderly people and 40 healthcare professionals), who assessed face validity.

The p-DT-SQ showed very good CVC (0.94) and face validity: it was considered clear, easy to understand, reasonable in length, and not difficult to answer. Participants felt comfortable answering the p-DT-SQ and felt it could positively affect the way themselves or others would remember their loved ones, allowing an understanding of the deceased's concerns, interests, and values.

We created and validated an adapted version of the DT-SQ to be used posthumously by bereaved family and friends. The European Portuguese version of the p-DT-SQ is clear, comprehensible, and aligned with the fundamentals of DT. While our data suggest its beneficial effects for those who are bereft, future research is needed to examine the impact of p-DT-SQ for those who are grieving.

Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) is an established treatment for post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD). Some patients diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) experience PTSD following choking or suffocation in the course of progressive loss of the ability to breathe. Although a loss of breathing functions in ALS is relatively common, there are currently no studies available on treatment for the fear of choking following advanced ALS.

In this case study, we describe the positive effects of EMDR, an evidence-based form of trauma therapy, in a 48-year-old female, suffering from advanced ALS. As the consequence of ALS, she was not able to speak or breath independently, but could communicate through a speech-generating device. She experienced panic attacks, flashbacks, nightmares, and severe anxiety after her tracheostomy jammed, and she almost suffocated.

Mediative treatment was started by instructing the care staff to respond neutrally with step-by-step instructions following tracheostomy jam, resulting in significantly less panic attacks and flashbacks. EMDR was initiated two weeks later, and resulted in full remittance of the trauma symptomatology.

The present case study suggests that symptoms of PTSD, namely the strong fear of suffocation, can be successfully treated by means of mediative behavioral therapy combined with EMDR.

Palliative care guidelines recommend an interdisciplinary approach to address patients’ awareness of mortality and need for end-of-life preparation. An ethical will is a nonlegal way to address mortality by communicating a lasting and intangible legacy of values to others. The aim of this scoping review is to clarify the operationalization of ethical wills across disciplines and map the purposes and outcomes of creating an ethical will.

We followed the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology for scoping reviews. We searched 14 databases in November 2019 and January 2021 without filtering publication date or type. Two reviewers independently screened 1,948 publications. We extracted frequently used terms describing content, audience, format, purpose, and outcomes identified in ethical will creation.

Fifty-one publications met inclusion criteria. Six (11.7%) were research articles. Twenty-four (47.1%) were lay literature published within law, estate, and financial planning. Collectively, our included studies defined an ethical will as a nonlegal way to express values, beliefs, life lessons and experiences, wisdom, love, history, hope for the future, blessings, apology, or forgiveness using any format (e.g., text, audio, video) that is meant to be shared with family, friends, or community. The most common purposes were to be remembered, address mortality, clarify life's meaning, and communicate what matters most. Creation provided opportunity to learn about self, served as a gift to both writer and recipient, and fostered generativity and sense of symbolic immortality.

Our findings highlight interdisciplinary utilization and a lack of research of ethical wills. This review provides supportive evidence for ethical wills as a way for patients to address mortality, renew intergenerational connections, solidify self, and promote transcendence before their final days. Ethical wills have potential to be incorporated into interdisciplinary palliative care in the future to address psychological symptoms for patients anticipating the end of life.

In the early stage of dementia, persons living with dementia (PLwD) can identify their values and wishes for future care with a high degree of accuracy and reliability. However, there is a paucity of research to guide best practices on how best to incorporate advance care planning (ACP) in older adults diagnosed with mild dementia and therefore only a minority of these individuals participate in any ACP discussions. We developed an intervention called Voice Your Values (VYV) that healthcare professionals can implement to identify and document the values of PLwD and their trusted individuals such as friends or family.

This single-group pre-test and post-test design aimed to determine the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of the VYV intervention.

A convenience sample of 21 dyads of PLwD and their trusted individuals were recruited from five outpatient geriatric clinics. The tailored VYV intervention was delivered to the dyads over two sessions using videoconferencing.

In terms of feasibility, the recruitment rate was lower (52%) than the expected 60%; the retention rate was high at 94%, and the intervention fidelity was high based on the audit of 20% of the sessions. In terms of preliminary efficacy, PLwD demonstrated improvement in ACP engagement (p = <0.01); trusted individuals showed improvements in decision-making confidence (p = 0.01) and psychological distress (p = 0.02); whereas a minimal change was noted in their dementia knowledge (p = 0.22).

Most of the feasibility parameters were met. A larger sample along with a control group, as well as a longitudinal study, are requisite to rigorously evaluate the efficacy of the promising VYV intervention. There is emerging evidence that people living with mild dementia can effectively participate in identifying and expressing their values and wishes for future care.

Spiritual care is a component of quality palliative care, but healthcare providers have reported lack of training as a barrier to its provision. This paper describes the evaluation of the Interprofessional Spiritual Care Educational Curriculum (ISPEC)© which is a six-module evidence-based curriculum developed for teaching interprofessional spiritual care based on a generalist-specialist model of spiritual care.

The course was run online in 2020 and attended by 20 healthcare workers who were invited to join the evaluation. Questionnaires were completed by participants before the training program (baseline), immediately after the training (post), and 3 months following the end of the program (follow-up). After the follow-up questionnaires, participants were invited to join a Focus Group to expand on their responses. Descriptive and exploratory statistical analysis was performed on quantitative data, and qualitative data was subjected to Thematic Analysis.

Exploratory data analysis showed that self-reported competence, confidence, and comfort in providing spiritual care significantly improved following training (p = 0.002) and were maintained over time (p = 0.034). In qualitative analysis, the main themes were: (1) overwhelmed by content; (2) the importance of practical training; (3) spiritual care is for everyone; (4) spiritual care should come from the heart; (5) training needs to be inclusive; and (6) spirituality is culturally specific.

This article describes an evaluation of the ISPEC© spiritual care training course administered to an Australian healthcare cohort using an online format. These preliminary findings suggest that the ISPEC© program is effective in improving the ability of healthcare professionals to provide spiritual care. More work is needed to improve the cultural relevance of the program in Australia.