The ACTive Intervention in Hospice Interdisciplinary Team Meetings: Exploring Family Caregiver and Hospice Team Communication

Abstract

This paper presents the theoretical framework and rationale for the ACTive intervention which proposes the use of video technology to facilitate patient and family participation in hospice interdisciplinary team meetings where plans of care are determined. It is surmised that patient and family involvement will improve communication and compliance in hospice care. An analysis of data from a pilot project of the ACTive intervention was conducted to explore active participation among family caregivers and the hospice team. Through the use of videophone technology caregivers participated in video-recorded team meetings. The actual communication behaviors of caregivers and team members were analyzed for active participation. Findings revealed that team-prompted caregiver participation was most common, however, team use of supportive talk in this context was considerably less frequent. The study also found that the team's use of active participation behaviors elicits caregiver active participation behaviors. The results of this study suggest the intervention was an effective way to involve family caregivers as active participants in the designing of care for their loved one. Findings also suggest that hospice staff would benefit from education and training on best practices for communicating with caregivers in the team meeting setting. © 2010 International Communication Association.