Summary of Melbourne Family Support Program (FSP) interventions and resources
| Strategy/intervention | Setting | Research design/methods | Outcome variables | # Of participants | Results | Resources | Publications arising |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Melbourne FSP #1.One-to-one home-based psychoeducation programme. Delivered by nurse to primary family caregiver | Family caregivers of patients enrolled in home-based/community specialist palliative care services - 4 sites, 3 states of Australia | Randomised controlled trial. T1 (baseline commencement of palliative care), T2 (2 weeks >intervention), T3 (2 mths >patient death) | Preparedness, competence, rewards, unmet needs, psychological distress | 300 | Statistically significant improvement in preparedness and competence @ T2. Significantly less rise (worsening) in psychological distress @ T3 in the intervention group. | Caregiver guidebook20 | (T2)9 11 (T3)25 |
| Melbourne FSP #2. Group home-based psychoeducation programme. Delivered by health professional to group of primary family caregivers. Face-to-face sessions x 3 @ local hospice | Family caregivers of patients enrolled in home based/community specialist palliative care services - 6 sites, Victoria Australia | Pretest post-test. T1 (baseline commencement of palliative care), T2 (2 weeks > intervention | Preparedness, competence, rewards, and unmet needs | 156 (30 programmes) | Statistically significant improvement in preparedness, competence, rewards, and needs met | Caregiver guidebook20 DVD for health professionals (http://www.centreforpallcare.org) | 26 27 |
| Melbourne FSP # 3. Group hospital. Delivered by health professional to group of primary family caregivers. Face-to-face sessions x 1 @ hospital palliative care unit/hospice | Family caregivers of patients admitted to hospital palliative care units/hospices - 3 states, 4 sites in Australia | Pretest post-test. T1 (prior to commencement), T2 (3 days >) intervention | Preparedness, competence, psychological unmet needs and psychological distress | 125 (52 programmes) | Statistically significant increases in preparedness, competence and needs met. | Web guidebook (http://www.centreforpallcare.org) | 28 29 |
| Melbourne FSP #4. Evaluation of guidelines for conducting family meetings | Family caregivers of patients admitted to hospital palliative care units/hospices in one site, Melbourne Australia | T 1 (pre-FM), T 2 (post-FM); T3 (2 days later) Plus qualitative | Unmet needs | 22 family meetings | Statistically significant increases in needs met | 30 | 30–32 |
| Melbourne FSP #5. Guidelines for psychosocial and bereavement support of family caregivers | Designed for healthcare professionals involved in palliative care across settings | Literature review. Focus groups. Semistructured interviews. Delphi survey. Endorsement by key palliative care organisations | Not applicable | Not applicable | Officially endorsed by several institutions including: St Christopher's Hospice (UK); Palliative Care Australia; International Observatory of End of Life Care UK | Complete version of guidelines (http://www.centreforpallcare.org) | 33 |
DVD, digital video disk.