Application of Narrative Nursing Combined with Psychological Resilience Training in Patients and Their Families in Hospice Care

Abstract

Terminal patients and their families face severe psychological distress—including anxiety, depression, caregiving stress, and grief—that exceeds the capacity of routine hospice care. While narrative nursing and psychological resilience training have shown individual efficacy, the synergistic effects of their combination remain unexamined. This study aimed to unravel the effects of narrative nursing combined with psychological resilience training in enhancing the psychological adaptation of patients and their families in hospice care. Seventy-four patients and their families receiving hospice care were allocated into an observation group (received an 8-week intervention of narrative nursing combined with psychological resilience training on top of routine hospice care) and a control group (received routine hospice care). Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) scores and Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale-10 (CD-RISC-10) scores of patients and their families before and after nursing were compared between the 2 groups. Psychological Distress Thermometer (PDT) and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) scores of patients before and after nursing were also compared. The modified hospice care satisfaction scale (based on the FAMCARE-2 scale) was applied to compare the nursing satisfaction of patients and their families after nursing. After nursing, the observation group demonstrated significantly greater reductions in HADS-A and HADS-D scores, more pronounced improvements in CD-RISC-10, PDT, and PSQI scores, as well as higher nursing satisfaction scores compared to the control group (all P < 0.05). The integration of narrative nursing with psychological resilience training in hospice care enhances the psychological adaptability of both patients and their families, while also contributing to improved sleep quality and greater satisfaction with care delivery.