Associations between Psycho-Social-Spiritual Interventions, Fewer Aggressive End-of-Life Measures, and Increased Time after Final Oncologic Treatment

Abstract

Background: Little is known about the impact of spiritual caregivers, psychologists, and social workers on desired end-of-life (EoL) medical outcomes, such as reduced use of aggressive care in the final 2 weeks of life, having more time between the last active oncological treatment and death, and increased hospice use. Patients and Methods: We conducted a prospective study of 180 patients with cancer and their families, their interactions with social work, psychology, and spiritual care, and the above three treatment outcomes. Results: We found that having one or more spiritual care visits (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 2.02; P =. 04), having more quality visits with the psychologist (P =. 01), and speaking with someone about one's inner resources (AOR = 2.25; P =. 03) all correlated with reduced EoL aggressive care. The key interventions correlating with increased time after final treatment were more visits with the spiritual caregiver or the social worker (AOR = 1.30; P