The current interdisciplinary specialist palliative care model focuses on supporting patients with advanced cancer who have complex problems in the last weeks of life. Consequently, palliative care is often provided late and in response to uncontrolled symptoms during crises. Palliative care models should shift from this reactionary illness-stress paradigm to a proactive health-wellness approach that is integrated early in the patient's disease trajectory.
A proactive early palliative care telehealth model, ENABLE (Educate, Nurture, Advise, Before Life Ends), was developed in the U.S. to coach patients with advanced cancers and their family caregivers on how to cope effectively with serious illness. By empowering individuals early before acute distress and symptoms occur, patients and families can better mitigate and avoid crises. Building on positive health outcomes demonstrated by the ENABLE model in the U.S., the study team has successfully pilot-tested a culturally adapted ENABLE-SG model in Singapore. This study seeks to test the effectiveness of this ENABLE-SG model among patients with recently diagnosed advanced cancer and their caregivers while simultaneously collecting data on real-world implementation.
Adult aged 21 and above
Within 60 days of being informed of an advanced cancer diagnosis, defined as metastatic or recurrent/ progressive Stage III/IV solid tumour
Able to speak English or Chinese
Able to provide informed consent
Medical record documentation of an active severe mental illness, dementia, active suicidal ideation, uncorrected hearing loss
Unable to complete patient-reported outcome measures
Has been reviewed by palliative care services in the current model of palliative care.
Self-reported severe mental illness, dementia, active suicidal ideation, uncorrected hearing loss