Abstract
BackgroundSuper-aging, along with high death rates and limited social resources in Japan, has created an urgent need to assume responsibility for the wellbeing of older adults and patients who have reached the end of life in the local community. MethodsFrom January 2019 to December 2020, we held six workshops with the same contents of interpersonal assistance using the teaching materials provided by End-of-Life Care (ELC) Association. The study session lasted for 180 minutes: the first 90 minutes entailed a presentation on supportive communication. The last 90 minutes were centered on role-playing. The objective of the supportive communication was not to understand the other person perfectly but to lead suffering people to think of supporters an understanding people.The participants were asked to perform reflective journal writing immediately following each session to record their experiences and describe what they learned. We applied thematic analysis to the journal entries to identify key themes based on Kolb’s ELT (experiential learning theory). For the three-month follow-up, semi-structured interviews were conducted with each participant to assess their self-perceived changes.ResultsReflective journal writing was completed by 152 participants. Using thematic analysis of the journal content immediately following the workshop, we identified two domains and 10 key themes based on participants’ perceptions. Participants realized the importance of using listening techniques, such as repetition and silence and understanding another person. Some mentioned they could ease their sense of weakness when helping those who are suffering, and that this awareness could be applied to work, grief care, and daily life.Three months post-experience interviews were completed with 28 of the original 152 participants who had completed reflective journal writing. Two domains and six key themes were generated. Some of the participants continued to practice listening with repetition and silence. Some of them also asked questions that could help strengthen the support for the sufferers. Changes in relationships between the participants and patients were identified. ConclusionUsing role-playing to teach supportive communication, such as listening attentively and accepting others by practicing repetition, silence, and asking, may be effective in encouraging supporters to confidently engage with people experiencing incurable suffering.