Supporting family caregivers of persons receiving specialised palliative home care — the Carer Support Needs Assessment Tool Intervention in a Hybrid Model

The Carer Support Needs Assessment Tool Intervention (CSNAT-I) is an intervention that provides family caregivers with the opportunity to reflect upon and prioritise their support needs, and to make these visible to healthcare professionals. Through a structured conversation with a healthcare professional, an action plan with agreed supportive inputs is developed to help meet the caregiver’s identified needs. The intervention has demonstrated positive outcomes.

The Carer Support Needs Assessment Tool Intervention (CSNAT-I) comprises two parts: an assessment tool with 15 direct questions addressing support needs across practical, emotional, existential and social domains, and a five-step person-centred process consisting of 1) introduction, 2) caregiver considers needs, 3) assessment conversation, 4) shared action plan and 5) shared review. Within the Swedish specialised palliative home care, the intervention facilitated trusting conversations that offered new perspectives and insights. Support became more person-centred and proactive, providing family caregivers with a greater opportunity to be prepared for their caring role, alongside a modest reduction in burden and improved quality of life. However, previous studies have indicated that clinical healthcare professionalshave expressed a wish for a digital version of the intervention, reflecting a broader shift away from paper-based working within Swedish healthcare.

The overall aim of this project is to study the Carer Support Needs Assessment Tool Intervention in a hybrid model for family caregivers within specialised palliative homecare services. In collaboration with specialised palliative home care in Skåne, the intervention has been incorporated into a digital system currently used within these services for other types of interventions, such as Patient-Reported Outcome Measures administered to patients. In the present project, the assessment tool is completed digitally by the family caregiver or the nurseduring the conversation. The completed assessment tool can subsequently be accessed during ward rounds and team meetings to provide an overview of family caregivers' needs and agreed supportive inputs.

The experiences and potential implications of working with and receiving the Carer Support Needs Assessment Tool Intervention in a hybrid model have not previously been studied from the perspectives of nurses or family caregivers. Focus group interviews with nurses and individual interviews with family caregivers will be used for data collection.