SPIRIT Intervention Training Manual And SPIRIT Intervention Guide

Application

Training manual and intervention guide designed for care providers of dementia patients to promote patients’ and their family caregivers’ decision-making regarding end-of-life care.

Key Benefits

Helps patients and their family caregivers prepare for end-of-life decision making.
Provides training and intervention guide for care providers caring for individuals living with a serious chronic condition, including dementia.

Market Summary

Many patients and their caregivers face immense stress as treatments become ineffective and the illness progresses. While lack of communication regarding end-of-life care between patients and their chosen surrogate decision makers present challenges, each disease amplifies these challenges in unique ways. These challenges in end-of-life caregiving will become more common as the population ages. Tools to educate patients and caregivers, as well as improve communication between both parties can help patients clarify their end-of-life wishes with less difficulty, as well as help surrogates and caregivers understand those wishes and their role and responsibility as a surrogate or caregiver.

Technical Summary

Emory researcher has developed an advance care planning intervention, so-called SPIRIT (Sharing the Patient’s Illness Representations to Increase Trust). Over the last 15 years the intervention has been adapted to different target populations. The SPIRIT has been newly adapted for dementia population, and refinement continues for other populations. SPIRIT is a structured intervention that is composed of 6 steps in one or two sessions depending on the target population. Throughout the process, under interventionist’s guidance, the patient-surrogate dyad achieves a deeper understanding of illness experience and decision making, exchanges their values and concerns about life-sustaining treatment at the end of life, and finally sets goals and plans regarding preparation of patient’s end-of-life care. The duration of the SPIRIT intervention is about an hour but may vary depending on dyad’s issues and concerns. This advance care planning intervention will enable the patient and surrogate to be prepared for the responsibility and emotional turmoil at the end-of-life.