The Effect of Empowerment Program for Caregivers of End-of-life Patients in Phichai District, Uttaradit province.

Abstract

      This quasi-experimental research aimed to compare the palliative care outcomes of primary caregivers of end-of-life palliative patients before and after receiving an empowerment program. The sample consisted of 30 primary caregivers of end-of-life palliative patients with Palliative Performance Scale (PPS) scores between 40-60% who were admitted to Pichai Hospital, Uttaradit Province, between April and July 2024. Purposive sampling was utilized for sample selection. The experimental instruments included an empowerment program for primary caregivers of end-of-life palliative patients and a palliative care manual. Data collection tools comprised a caregiver demographic questionnaire and the Palliative Care Outcome Scale-Caregiver version (POS-C). Demographic characteristics and palliative care outcome scores were analyzed using descriptive statistics, while the differences in palliative care outcomes were compared using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test.

      The results revealed that after providing knowledge and skills enhancement to the primary caregivers from hospital admission through 4 weeks of continuous home care, the mean palliative care outcome score perceived by the caregivers was statistically significantly lower than the baseline score (p < 0.05).