Occupational therapy-led self-management anxiety and stress programme: a mixed methods evaluation in community palliative medicine

Objectives: A key role of specialist palliative care occupational therapy is to enable patients to self-manage symptoms associated with a life-limiting illness. EMPOWER, a 4-week group programme, provides self-management interventions for stress and anxiety. The aim of this study is to evaluate the EMPOWER programme for community-based specialist palliative care patients. Methods: An action research feasibility study employing a mixed methods approach was undertaken. Self-reporting outcome measures were administered pre-EMPOWER and post-EMPOWER. Qualitative focus groups and feedback forms were completed postintervention. Ethical approval for this study was obtained from the Research Ethics Committee of the service site. Results: Six virtual and five inperson EMPOWER group programmes were facilitated with 33 participants. Twenty-five participants completed the preoutcome and postoutcome measures. Statistically significant improvements in anxiety (p=0.002), occupational performance (p=0.003) and satisfaction (p<0.001) were observed from preintervention to postintervention. Qualitative data analysis identified three main themes: (1) living with symptoms, (2) management of symptoms and (3) programme design and delivery. Conclusion: EMPOWER is considered an acceptable intervention by community-based palliative care patients. Improved understanding of self-management skills to manage anxiety encouraged participants to implement strategies and re-engage in meaningful goals. Recommendations were provided on the programme's design. Further research is required to evaluate the effectiveness of EMPOWER in a larger group of community-based palliative care patients.