RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Effect of the Carer Support Needs Assessment Tool intervention (CSNAT-I) in the Danish specialised palliative care setting: a stepped-wedge cluster randomised controlled trial JF BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care JO BMJ Support Palliat Care FD British Medical Journal Publishing Group SP bmjspcare-2020-002467 DO 10.1136/bmjspcare-2020-002467 A1 Line Lund A1 Lone Ross A1 Morten Aagaard Petersen A1 Annemette Blach A1 Elizabeth Rosted A1 Georg Bollig A1 Gitte Irene Juhl A1 Hanne Bollerup Farholt A1 Helen Winther A1 Louise Laursen A1 Marianne Hasse A1 Signe Weensgaard A1 Mai-Britt Guldin A1 Gail Ewing A1 Gunn Grande A1 Mogens Groenvold YR 2020 UL http://spcare.bmj.com/content/early/2020/11/17/bmjspcare-2020-002467.abstract AB Background The Carer Support Needs Assessment Tool intervention (CSNAT-I) has been shown to improve end-of-life care support for informal caregivers. This study investigated the impact of the CSNAT-I on caregivers of patients recently enrolled in specialised palliative care (SPC) at home in Denmark.Methods A stepped-wedge cluster randomised controlled trial with nine clusters (ie, SPC teams). Outcome measures were collected using caregiver questionnaires at baseline (T0) and 2-week (T1) and 4-week (T2) follow-up.Results A total of 437 caregivers were enrolled (control group, n=255; intervention group, n=182). No intervention effect was found on the primary outcome, caregiver strain at T1 (p=0.1865). However, positive effects were found at T1 and T2 on attention to caregivers’ well-being (p<0.0001), quality of information and communication (p<0.0001), amount of information (T1: p=0.0002; T2: p<0.0001), involvement (T1: p=0.0045; T2: p<0.0001), talking about greatest burdens (p<0.0001) and assistance in managing greatest burdens (p<0.0001). The effect sizes of these differences were medium or large and seemed to increase from T1 to T2. At T1, positive effects were found on distress (p=0.0178) and home care responsibility (p=0.0024). No effect was found on the remaining outcomes.Conclusion Although no effect was found on caregiver strain, the CSNAT-I showed positive effects on caregiver distress, home care responsibility and key outcomes regarding caregivers’ experience of the interaction with healthcare professionals.Trial registration number NCT03466580.