Abstract
ObjectivesA key role of specialist palliative care occupational therapy is to enable patients to self-manage symptoms associated with a life-limiting illness. EMPOWER, a 4-week group programme, provides self-management interventions for stress and anxiety. The aim of this study is to evaluate the EMPOWER programme for community-based specialist palliative care patients.MethodsAn action research feasibility study employing a mixed methods approach was undertaken. Self-reporting outcome measures were administered pre-EMPOWER and post-EMPOWER. Qualitative focus groups and feedback forms were completed postintervention. Ethical approval for this study was obtained from the Research Ethics Committee of the service site.ResultsSix virtual and five inperson EMPOWER group programmes were facilitated with 33 participants. Twenty-five participants completed the preoutcome and postoutcome measures. Statistically significant improvements in anxiety (p=0.002), occupational performance (p=0.003) and satisfaction (p<0.001) were observed from preintervention to postintervention. Qualitative data analysis identified three main themes: (1) living with symptoms, (2) management of symptoms and (3) programme design and delivery.ConclusionEMPOWER is considered an acceptable intervention by community-based palliative care patients. Improved understanding of self-management skills to manage anxiety encouraged participants to implement strategies and re-engage in meaningful goals. Recommendations were provided on the programme’s design. Further research is required to evaluate the effectiveness of EMPOWER in a larger group of community-based palliative care patients.