'From my perspective':. Findings from a feasibility study with outpatients in palliative care who evaluated a personalized immersive audio experience

Background
Recently, there are more opportunities to develop creative arts-based interventions for use in palliative care to promote patient outcomes.
Methods
Ten participants were recruited from a palliative care outpatient service for a creative arts intervention ‘From My Perspective’. The involved audio-recording life stories with palliative patients, which were developed into personalized listening experiences using a physical memory box. Pre- and post-intervention, a survey containing open-ended questions and validated measures was used to capture changes in quality-of-life and well-being. Qualitative responses were analysed thematically.
Results
Qualitative comments indicated high levels of gratitude and satisfaction with the learning experience and the memory box that they could gift. When listening to their narratives, emotions experienced were emphasized by background sounds. Retaining their identity and personality throughout the narratives and creating a valuable record of their voice for posterity gave comfort to participants. Quantitative findings mirrored the anticipated deterioration in quality-of-life and well-being of people living with a progressive, life-limiting illness.
Conclusions/Recommendations
Findings suggest acceptance of ‘From my Perspective’ and potential benefits to patients. Given the small sample size, the results are not generalizable to the wider palliative care population. Further research and larger-scale implementation, with a comparison group, are needed to understand how best to integrate this type of creative arts-based intervention into different health care contexts and the longer-term benefits to bereaved relatives.