title: Effectiveness of using clinical guidelines for conducting palliative care family meetings in Japan.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study is to pilot test the effectiveness of using recently developed clinical guidelines from Australia for conducting palliative care family meetings in Japan.
  
  
  METHODS
  Palliative care family meetings were conducted using clinical guidelines with 15 primary family carers of cancer patients who were admitted to an acute care hospital in Japan. Using the pre-family meeting questionnaire, the primary carers were asked to write key concerns to discuss during the family meetings and rate their concerns via a numerical rating scale: how upset/worried they were about the problem, frequency in which problem occurs, life interference with the problem, and the confidence to deal with the problem. Within 3 days after the meeting, the primary carers were asked to complete the post-meeting questionnaire to evaluate the effectiveness of the family meeting.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was a significant improvement in family carers' psychological well-being in the post-meeting questionnaires compared to the pre-meeting questionnaires as follows: how upset/worried they were about the problem, t(14) = 3.1071, p < 0.000011; frequency in which problem occurs, t(14) = 3.2857, p < 0.000013; life interference with the problem, t(14) = 2.7857, p < 0.000008; and the confidence to deal with the problem, t(13) = -2.3007, p < 0.005480.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In accordance with the study aims, we were able to demonstrate the utility of a questionnaire as an essential tool to plan and conduct effective communication between health professionals and primary family carers in Japanese cancer patients. This pilot test should be followed up with a larger sample and a controlled trial.
authors.affiliation: Department of Palliative Medicine, The University of Tokyo Hospital, Tokyo, Japan. 7x8s6u@bma.biglobe.ne.jp
authors.forename: Mieko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fukui
authors.forename: Satoru
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Iwase
authors.forename: Naoko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sakata
authors.forename: Yujiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kuroda
authors.forename: Kazuhiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yoshiuchi
authors.forename: Keiichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nakagawa
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Quinn
authors.forename: Peter L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Hudson
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001315:Australia; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology; D003258:Consumer Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020380:Needs Assessment; D010166:Palliative Care; D010865:Pilot Projects; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D011368:Professional-Family Relations; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires