Outcomes of a Dignity Therapy/Life Plan Intervention for Patients With Advanced Cancer Undergoing Chemotherapy.
Ann M Dose, Pamela J McCabe, Catherine A Krecke and 1 others
PMID 30063634WHAT IT FOUND
Distress scores dropped three months after dignity therapy, but quality of life, spirituality, and purpose did not change.
The small pilot showed the intervention was feasible during chemotherapy, though it proved no broader benefit.
Key findings
01Distress levels measured 3 months after the intervention were significantly lower than at baseline.
02There were no significant changes from baseline to post-intervention or 3-month follow-up in quality of life, spirituality, purpose in life, or dignity.
03The study lacked sufficient power to draw conclusions about the effectiveness of the combined dignity therapy and life plan intervention.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The sample size was very small (18 participants), and the study lacked sufficient power to derive conclusions about effectiveness. The participants were from a single geographic region and were not diverse, limiting generalizability. The concept of 'distress' may have been too nebulous for some patients, with one participant basing their score on the comfort of the waiting room chairs. There was no control group, so changes cannot be definitively attributed to the intervention.
Declared interests
The paper does not state a funding source or specific conflicts of interest, but notes that the study was conducted at a large Midwestern tertiary care center.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the significant reduction in distress as proof that Dignity Therapy works. The study was a small pilot without a control group and was explicitly underpowered to determine effectiveness, meaning the result could be due to chance or natural fluctuation.