Table 9.

Scenario illustrating influence of feasibility on implementability

Study title Feasibility of conducting family meetings for hospitalised palliative care patients. Background A family meeting is a clinical tool for healthcare providers to facilitate communication with patients with advanced disease and their family caregivers. Despite family meetings being advocated as standard practice, minimal evidence existed regarding the balance between costs and benefits. The economic feasibility (healthcare utilisation) of providing a structured family meeting for hospitalised palliative care patients was evaluated as part of a larger cluster randomised trial. Method A pragmatic cluster randomised control trial was conducted across three major Australian hospitals. Patients admitted or referred to specialise palliative care units, and their primary family caregiver, were invited to participate. The intervention consisted of a single structured family meeting tailored according to the individual needs of the participant, family caregiver and treating team. The control group received usual care. Caregiver psychological distress, patient outcomes and healthcare utilisation data were compared between the two groups. Results A total of 297 dyads were recruited and randomised: control group (n = 153); intervention group (n = 144). The intervention group demonstrated significantly lower psychological distress (Diff: − 1.68, p < 0.01) and higher preparedness (Diff: 3.48, p = 0.001) at Time 2. No differences were identified for quality of end-of-life care or health resource utilisation. Conclusion Family meetings may assist in reducing family caregiver distress and preparing individuals for their caregiving role. The results also suggest that family meetings do not increase health service utilisation costs; however, this aspect of feasibility requires further examination. Relationship to implementability 1. Routinely conducting family meetings may not incur additional demands on health care utilisation. 2. Family meetings appear to be implementable but further investigation of other feasibility factors is required. Reference Hudson, P., Girgis, A., Thomas, K., et al. (2021). Do family meetings for hospitalised palliative care patients improve outcomes and reduce health care costs? A cluster randomised trial. Palliative Medicine, 35(1), 188–199.