Telepalliation – A way of increasing a feeling of coherence in the care of patients with terminal illness across sectors

Background: An estimated 20 million people are in need of palliative care worldwide, each year. The majority of these are suffering from cancer, followed by cardiovascular disease and chronical obstructive pulmonary disease. A web-based Telepalliation program and digital platform was developed (offering video calls, treatment planning, patient related outcome reporting, chat function and information on palliative subjects), through a participatory design process involving patients and their relatives, health care professionals and researchers.
Objective: The aim of the study is to explore the experiences of patients in palliative care participating in the TelePal Program
Methods: The overall method of the study is the case study method. The theoretical framework is Antonovsky “sense of coherence” theory. In this sub-study semi-structured qualitative interviews were carried out with 6 men (ages 55-82) and 4 women (46-76). All ten patients were diagnosed with cancer. The interviews were recorded and analyzed inspired by Brinkman and Kvale using Nivivo 12.0.
Results: Patients participating in the Telepalliation program articulated their experiences in terms of the following themes: The TelePal platform a) facilitates better communication with patients and healthcare professionals across sectors b) makes illness and symptoms easier to understand c) creates a sense of security d) gives a sense of coherence in caring across sectors e) increased freedom. Only few patients found it overwhelming to participate in the study.
Conclusions: Preliminary findings indicate that patients participating in a Telepalliation program experience a sense coherence in their care process and integrated care across sectors for the individual patients. They also feel a sense of security and freedom. Further research is needed on exploring benefits and drawbacks of the Telepalliation platform and program.