Empower-Grief for Relatives of Cancer Patients: Implementation and Findings from an Exploratory Randomized Controlled...

Area of Science:

• Palliative Care
• Psychology
• Grief and Bereavement Research

Background:

• Grief reactions in palliative care relatives are often overlooked, with interventions focusing on Prolonged Grief Disorder (PGD) rather than prevention.
• Limited interventions exist for at-risk individuals experiencing early problematic grief.
• Caregivers of palliative and oncological patients are particularly vulnerable to complicated grief.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the efficacy of Empower-Grief, a selective intervention for early problematic grief reactions.
• To explore predictors of Empower-Grief's effectiveness in a palliative care setting.
• To compare Empower-Grief with Treatment as Usual (TAU) in reducing PGD symptoms.

Main Methods:

• An exploratory randomized controlled trial (RCT) involving 46 participants (relatives/caregivers of palliative/oncological patients).
• Intervention group received Empower-Grief; control group received TAU.
• Assessments included PGD symptoms, anxiety, depression, coping, attachment, psychological flexibility, post-traumatic growth, social support, and therapeutic alliance at baseline, post-intervention, and six-month follow-up.

Main Results:

• Empower-Grief and TAU demonstrated equivalent outcomes in reducing PGD symptoms and psychological distress.
• Initial grief symptoms and therapeutic alliance were significant predictors of outcomes at post-intervention and follow-up.
• No significant differences were found between the two groups regarding the primary outcome (PGD symptoms).

Conclusions:

• Empower-Grief is a promising intervention, showing comparable effectiveness to TAU in managing grief reactions in palliative care settings.
• Its lower intensity, ease of training, and application make Empower-Grief a viable option for supporting bereaved caregivers.
• Further research is warranted to confirm findings and explore broader applications of Empower-Grief.