Table 1.

A comparison of Dignity Talk with Dignity Therapy.

	Dignity Therapy	Dignity Talk
Aim	To promote generativity, by creating a legacy document, with the purpose of instilling a sense of meaning for participants	To engage dying patients and their families in mutually beneficial conversations intended to enhance end-of-life experience by decreasing feelings of isolation, despair; and enhance communication and connectedness
Theoretical framework	The model of dignity in the terminally ill	The model of dignity in the terminally ill
EOL intervention	Enhance EOL experience	Enhance EOL experience
Format	A semi-structured interview facilitated and recorded by a therapist	An intimate and private conversation between patients and their family members
Application	Therapist-facilitated	Self-administered
Primary recipient	Terminally ill patients	The patient–family dyad
Primary role of family member	Recipient of the generativity document	Co-participant and therapeutic beneficiary
Question protocol	A guide for a therapist-facilitated conversation	Conversation prompts for patients and family members
Audio record	Yes	No
Therapist input	Needed	No therapist is needed, although ideally they are available before or after Dignity Talk for added support
Final product	A summary generativity document	NA

NA: not applicable; EOL: End-of-life.