Trial Information

Outlook: An Intervention to Improve Quality of Life in Serious Illness Study

This is a randomized control trial to evaluate the feasibility of the Outlook intervention.
225 veterans with advanced cancer, Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) or chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease (COPD) or end stage renal disease will be randomly assigned to one of
three intervention groups and complete a brief battery of pre-test measures. Subjects in the
first group ("treatment") will meet with a facilitator three times for a period of 45 min-1
hour. In the first session, subjects will be asked to discuss issues related to life review.
In the second session, participants will be asked to speak in more depth about issues such
as regret, forgiveness and things left undone, In the final session, subjects will focus on
heritage and legacy. The subjects in the second group ("attention control") will meet with a
facilitator three times for a period of 45 min- 1 hour and listen to a non-guided relaxation
CD. The third group of participants ("true control") will be exposed to no intervention or
attention control. One week and two weeks later, participants in all groups will receive
post-test measures administered by a blinded interviewer.