Feldstain A, et al. - The variations in self-reported distress for patients who completed the Palliative Rehabilitation Program (PRP), from baseline to program completion were probed during this trial. A substantial decrease was reported in a number of endorsed checklist problems and overall self-reported distress. In comparison to the available literature which did not exhibit improvements, the yielded data from this study validated that palliative rehabilitation could benefit patient levels of distress by improving function and quality of life. An additional benefit could be gained via psychotherapy, anesthesia, and further intervention for cognitive difficulties.

Methods

• A secondary assessment was pursued of the self-report and clinical measures, for 180 patients who completed the PRP.
• Measures comprised of the Distress Thermometer and the Problem checklists.
• Descriptive statistics elucidated the sample, paired-sample t tests gauged the variations in Distress Thermometer scores from baseline to PRP completion, and McNemar’s tests disclosed if the most commonly endorsed checklist items changed by PRP completion.

Results

• Participants (n = 180) reported advanced heterogeneous cancers (mean age = 62.18, 49.4% male).
• From baseline to completion, prominent variations included decreases in endorsement of clinical distress (from 55.6 to 38.9%; p < 0.001) and decreases in 7/10 of the most commonly endorsed checklist problems (p values ranging from 0.016 to <0.001).