Pilot Testing of a Question Prompt Sheet to Encourage Family Caregivers of Cancer Patients and Physicians to Discuss End-of-life Issues

Abstract

Family members of patients with advanced illness have many questions. Unfortunately, several barriers prevent caregivers from discussing their questions with the physicians caring for the patient. Although question prompt sheets can be helpful in overcoming barriers to communication, few have been developed for family caregivers. The goal of this study, therefore, was to develop and test the acceptability and feasibility of a short question prompt sheet designed to encourage discussions about end-of-life concerns in an outpatient palliative care clinic. Our results demonstrated that caregivers wanted to discuss a variety of questions, primarily questions about medications, symptoms, support services, and what to expect. All caregivers thought that the question prompt sheet was easy to understand and felt comfortable completing it in clinic and the majority reported that the question prompt sheets made it easier for them to ask questions.