The positive effects of early integrated palliative care on patient coping strategies, quality of life, and depression.

Abstract

92 Background: In a recent trial, early integrated palliative care (PC) improved quality of life (QOL) and reduced depressive symptoms in patients with newly-diagnosed incurable lung and gastrointestinal (GI) cancer. The mechanisms by which PC benefits these outcomes are unclear. We examined whether early integrated PC improved patients’ coping strategies and the degree to which changes in coping mediated intervention effects on QOL and depressive symptoms. Methods: From 5/2011 to 7/2015, we enrolled 350 patients with newly diagnosed incurable lung or non-colorectal GI cancer in a randomized trial of early PC integrated with oncology care vs. oncology care alone at Massachusetts General Hospital. Patients completed self-report measures of QOL (Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General), depressive symptoms (Patient Health Questionnaire-9), and use of active and avoidant coping strategies (Brief Cope) at baseline, 12, and 24 weeks. Linear regression was used to assess the effects of the early PC intervention on active and avoidant coping strategies. A multiple mediation regression was modeled to examine whether changes in use of coping strategies mediated intervention effects on QOL and depressive symptoms. Results: Compared to oncology care, early integrated PC improved patients’ use of active coping ( B= 1.09, SE= 0.44, p= .01, 95% CI: 0.23, 1.96) and slightly reduced use of avoidant coping strategies ( B= -0.44, SE= 0.23, p= .06, 95% CI:-0.90, 0.02). Improvements in 24-week QOL in patients assigned to PC were mediated by increased use of active coping strategies (indirect effect = 1.27, 95% CI: 0.31, 2.86), but not by decreased use of avoidant coping. Similarly, PC-related reductions in 24-week depressive symptoms were mediated by increased use of active coping strategies (indirect effect = -0.39, 95% CI:-0.89, -0.08) but not by decreased use of avoidant coping. Conclusions: Patients with newly diagnosed incurable cancer who received early integrated PC showed increased use of active coping strategies, which was associated with improved QOL and depressive symptoms. PC may improve QOL and mood by providing patients with the skills to cope effectively with life-threatening illness. Clinical trial information: NCT01401907.