Providing Dignity Therapy Integrated Care to Cancer Patients Receiving Palliative Care: A Feasibility Study within the Setting of a Selected Hospital Palliative Care Unit, West Bengal - A Pilot Study

Introduction: Dignity therapy integrated care is an individualized psychotherapeutic intervention that is unquestionably aimed at improving the well-being of cancer patients receiving palliative care. Dignity therapy focused in this mainly on how it reduces the physical, psychological, and dignity related distress among the cancer patients receiving palliative care. The aim of this study is to determine the effectiveness and feasibility of dignity therapy integrated intervention in improving the dignity and reducing the various distress experienced by the cancer patients receiving palliative care. Methods: This study was a non-randomized quasi-experimental study design in a selected palliative care unit of outpatient department of SSKM, Hospital, Kolkata, West Bengal. Dignity therapy integrated care was applied as an intervention in the study group and general visit was employed in the control group. Total of 30 cancer patients receiving palliative care were recruited among which 15 cancer patients in the study group and another 15 was in control group by adopting purposive sampling technique. Patient Dignity Inventory (Standardized tool) mainly was dignity related distress consisted with physical distress, psychological distress, existential distress and dignity concerning distress. Measurements were obtained by pre intervention and post intervention (on 10th day of intervention). General visit was done after doing pre- test for control group and posttest was conducted on (10th day of intervention). Feasibility was evaluated by Patients' Feedback responses. The effectiveness of the dignity therapy integrated care in the two groups was analyzed using independent t" test at 0.05 level of significance and comparing the mean difference with effect size by Cohen's d test. Results: After dignity therapy integrated care, the cancer patients receiving palliative care reflected decreased dignity related distress significantly in comparison of control group of cancer patients receiving palliative care. Conclusion: Dignity therapy integrated care could be adopting by the palliative care nurses in clinical setting to improve the well-being of the cancer patients receiving palliative care by reducing their dignity related distress that could relieve patients physical, psychological, existential and dignity concerning distress and thus improving their sense and purpose of living.