Problem-solving cancer care education for patients and caregivers

Abstract

Purpose A program evaluation was conducted to explore the potential effects of a 90-minute problem-solving education session for persons with advanced cancer and their families. Description of program Patients with advanced cancer and their families, who were visiting a tertiary-care outpatient setting, were invited to attend a 90-minute individualized educational session that taught basic problem-solving principles using a cognitive-behavioral framework. Pre-education and posteducation data were collected about the confidence of participants in providing care, their feelings about being informed about resources, and their perceptions of their problem-solving ability. Results At baseline, most participants reported low confidence about their ability to provide cancer care and felt uninformed about community resources, but they viewed themselves as moderate-to-good problem solvers. Forty-two educational sessions were delivered to 49 caregivers and 40 patients. Two months later, participants reported feeling more informed about community resources and achieved higher posteducation scores for problem-solving ability. More caregivers than patients reported that reading The Home Care Guide for Cancer made a great deal of difference in their approach to home care. Clinical implications Most educational sessions for families affected by cancer focus on delivering information, not on building skills. These findings suggest that a one-on-one educational session that teaches problem-so…