Is dignity therapy feasible to enhance the end of life experience for people with motor neurone disease and their family carers?
Background: Development of interventions that address psychosocial and existential distress in people with motor neurone disease (MND) or that alleviate caregiver burden in MND family carers have often been suggested in the research literature. Dignity therapy, which was developed to reduce psychoso...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
| Published: |
BioMed Central Ltd.
2012
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| Online Access: | 1380 http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/20951 |
| _version_ | 1848750453823635456 |
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| author | Bentley, B. Aoun, Samar O'Connor, Moira Breen, Lauren Chochinov, H. |
| author_facet | Bentley, B. Aoun, Samar O'Connor, Moira Breen, Lauren Chochinov, H. |
| author_sort | Bentley, B. |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Background: Development of interventions that address psychosocial and existential distress in people with motor neurone disease (MND) or that alleviate caregiver burden in MND family carers have often been suggested in the research literature. Dignity therapy, which was developed to reduce psychosocial and existential distress at the end of life, has been shown to benefit people dying of cancer and their families. These results may not be transferable to people with MND. The objectives of this study are to assess the feasibility, acceptability and potential effectiveness of dignity therapy to enhance the end of life experience for people with motor neurone disease and their family carers. Methods/design: This is a cross-sectional study utilizing a single treatment group and a pre/post test design. The study population will comprise fifty people diagnosed with MND and their nominated family carers. Primarily quantitative outcomes will be gathered through measures assessed at baseline and at approximately one week after the intervention. Outcomes for participants include hopefulness, spirituality and dignity. Outcomes for family carers include perceived caregiver burden, hopefulness and anxiety/depression. Feedback and satisfaction with the intervention will be gathered through a questionnaire. Discussion: This detailed research will explore if dignity therapy has the potential to enhance the end of life experience for people with MND and their family carers, and fill a gap for professionals who are called on to address the spiritual, existential and psychosocial needs of their MND patients and families. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T07:37:05Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-20951 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T07:37:05Z |
| publishDate | 2012 |
| publisher | BioMed Central Ltd. |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-209512018-04-13T07:08:41Z Is dignity therapy feasible to enhance the end of life experience for people with motor neurone disease and their family carers? Bentley, B. Aoun, Samar O'Connor, Moira Breen, Lauren Chochinov, H. Background: Development of interventions that address psychosocial and existential distress in people with motor neurone disease (MND) or that alleviate caregiver burden in MND family carers have often been suggested in the research literature. Dignity therapy, which was developed to reduce psychosocial and existential distress at the end of life, has been shown to benefit people dying of cancer and their families. These results may not be transferable to people with MND. The objectives of this study are to assess the feasibility, acceptability and potential effectiveness of dignity therapy to enhance the end of life experience for people with motor neurone disease and their family carers. Methods/design: This is a cross-sectional study utilizing a single treatment group and a pre/post test design. The study population will comprise fifty people diagnosed with MND and their nominated family carers. Primarily quantitative outcomes will be gathered through measures assessed at baseline and at approximately one week after the intervention. Outcomes for participants include hopefulness, spirituality and dignity. Outcomes for family carers include perceived caregiver burden, hopefulness and anxiety/depression. Feedback and satisfaction with the intervention will be gathered through a questionnaire. Discussion: This detailed research will explore if dignity therapy has the potential to enhance the end of life experience for people with MND and their family carers, and fill a gap for professionals who are called on to address the spiritual, existential and psychosocial needs of their MND patients and families. 2012 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/20951 10.1186/1472-684X-11-18 1380 BioMed Central Ltd. fulltext |
| spellingShingle | Bentley, B. Aoun, Samar O'Connor, Moira Breen, Lauren Chochinov, H. Is dignity therapy feasible to enhance the end of life experience for people with motor neurone disease and their family carers? |
| title | Is dignity therapy feasible to enhance the end of life experience for people with motor neurone disease and their family carers? |
| title_full | Is dignity therapy feasible to enhance the end of life experience for people with motor neurone disease and their family carers? |
| title_fullStr | Is dignity therapy feasible to enhance the end of life experience for people with motor neurone disease and their family carers? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Is dignity therapy feasible to enhance the end of life experience for people with motor neurone disease and their family carers? |
| title_short | Is dignity therapy feasible to enhance the end of life experience for people with motor neurone disease and their family carers? |
| title_sort | is dignity therapy feasible to enhance the end of life experience for people with motor neurone disease and their family carers? |
| url | 1380 http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/20951 |