CN34 - Pallium game: The use of a card game in palliative care

Background

Palliative care can improve the quality of life of people and their families when timely and holistic identification of needs is carried out, allowing for the planning of person-centered care that meets their multidimensional needs and includes their wishes ( Fernandes et al. 2021 .) In palliative care, strategies are needed to eliminate some barriers to be able to discuss and document the values and preferences of the person and the family member.

Methods

This study aimed to evaluate the use of a card game as a family assessment tool in a palliative care unit. The sample was composed of 13 family members of people with palliative illness admitted to the palliative care unit. Participants were recruited using a convenience sampling method. The “Pallium Game” has 2 "Start" Cards, 23 "Family" Cards, 16 "Support" Cards, 10 "Impact" Cards, 23 "Meaning" Cards, 11 “Belief” Cards, and 8 “Intervention”. The game begins with the two “Start” cards, serving as an “Icebreaker” and family assessment tool. Next, the participants choose the themes of the letters they want to answer and take turns reading the letters aloud and answering the respective themes. When the game is over, at least two intervention cards must be collected and discussed. Pallium game is intended to improve communication between people/families/caregivers and health professionals, creating a space that enables the understanding of the behaviour patterns in the family system, extracting meaning from adversity, and promoting better interaction and adaptation.

Results

Using a game was found to be useful and effective. A collaborative game in palliative care should create a space for people and families to express feelings and experiences, meeting the myriad of physical, psychosocial, and spiritual needs. Our findings suggest that using the “Pallium game” is a useful and impactful approach to discussing sensitive topics in palliative care.

Conclusions

A collaborative game in palliative care helps to create a space for individuals and families to express feelings and experiences, meeting the myriad of physical, psychosocial, and spiritual needs. The “Pallium game” is a useful and impactful approach to discussing sensitive topics in palliative care.

Clinical trial identification

Editorial acknowledgement

Legal entity responsible for the study

The authors.

Funding

Has not received any funding.

Disclosure

All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.