PURPOSE: ti program evaluation was conducted to explore the potential effec
ts of a 90-minute problem-solving education session for persons with advanc
ed cancer and their families.
DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM: Patients with advanced cancer and their families, w
ho were visiting a tertiary-care outpatient setting, were invited to attend
a 90-minute individualized educational session that taught basic problem-s
olving principles using a cognitive-behavioral framework. Pre-education and
posteducation data were collected about the confidence of participants in
providing care, their feelings about being informed about resources, and th
eir perceptions of their problem-solving ability.
RESULTS: At baseline. most participants reported low confidence about their
ability to provide cancer care and felt uninformed about community resourc
es, but they viewed themselves as moderate-to-good problem solvers. Forty-t
wo educational sessions were delivered to 49 caregivers and 40 patients. Tw
o months later, participants reported feeling more informed about community
resources and achieved higher posteducation scores for problem-solving abi
lity, More caregivers than patients reported that reading The Home Care Gui
de for Cancer made a great deal of difference in their approach to home car
e.
CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Most educational sessions for families affected by c
ancer focus on delivering information, not on building skills. These findin
gs suggest that a one-on-one educational session that teaches problem-solvi
ng skills can be successfully delivered in a busy clinic setting. Family ca
regivers are especially likely to benefit from this program.