Table 2 Description of the individually tailored palliative rehabilitation intervention
Target population | Patients with newly diagnosed non-resectable cancer |
|---|---|
Goals of the intervention | Immediate goals • To help patients and caregivers with symptoms/problems identified through questionnaires and a specialized palliative care consultation • To improve overall QoL through symptom control, improvement of physical performance level, and better understanding of the disease and related symptoms Distal/general goals • To improve survival and reduce health service utilization by early recognition of symptoms and problems, improvement of physical performance level and ability to complete “as planned” cancer treatment, and support of patient and caregiver empowerment in future treatment decisions |
Activity/process | • Individual consultations • Group educational program for patients and caregivers • Group physical exercise program for patients • Contact to other health departments, the primary sector, local municipality and employer, if relevant and the patient consents |
Resources | • Human resources A specialized palliative care team consisting of physicians, nurses, physiotherapists, psychologists, a dietician, an occupational therapist, a social worker, and a hospital chaplain • Physical resources A consultation room, a group room, and a group exercise room. • Time resources The initial specialized palliative care consultation has a duration of approximately one hour plus on average 15 min for the multidisciplinary team conference. The follow-up consultation with a specialized palliative care nurse takes about 30–45 min The group educational program and physical exercise program lasts two and a half hours once a week for twelve weeks. Additional resources are based on individual needs and wishes of patients and caregivers and will be assessed retrospectively |
Context | • Scientific context Investigation of early, integrated palliative care and rehabilitation for advanced cancer patients • Organizational structures The specialized palliative care team is organized under the Department of Oncology |