Family Carer decision support Intervention
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Scaling up the Family Carer Decision Support Intervention: A Multisite Implementation Evaluation
IRAS ID
279970
Contact name
Kevin Brazil
Contact email
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 7 months, 27 days
Research summary
There is evidence that care home staff are reluctant to discuss end of life care. However, research suggests that training of care home workers increases both competence and confidence in this area. Identified training needs include understanding the progression of dementia, palliative and holistic care; and, improving communication with residents and family carers. A recently completed review of the research revealed that care homes and their staff play an important role in the successful implementation and adoption of innovations such as the intervention to be examined in this proposed study the Family Carer Decision Support (FCDS) intervention
The aim of the FCDS intervention is to inform family carers on end of life care options for a person living with advanced dementia. The benefit for family carers is that they can better understand the risks and benefits of care options and actively participate in shared decision making with health care providers.
The initial FCDS study employed a cluster randomized control trial involving 24 dementia care homes located in Northern Ireland. A trained facilitator external to the nursing care home delivered the FCDS. It demonstrated statistical significant impact in reducing family carer decision uncertainty on establishing goals of care at the end of life and showed improved family carer satisfaction on quality of care. This follow-up study proposes to extend its application geographically and train care home staff to deliver the FCDS intervention. Training care home staff to deliver the intervention responds to recent NICE guidance that highlights the importance of care home staff having the right knowledge, attitude, and approach to ensure competency to promote quality of care, up to and including, the end of life.
REC name
HSC REC B
REC reference
20/NI/0041
Date of REC Opinion
27 Mar 2020
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion