2.6. Data Collection Procedure
depression, illness, fatigue, pain
BLIND
Data collection took place over an 8-month period. Participants completed baseline (T1) instruments upon enrolment. Follow-up instruments were collected immediately after the intervention (T2—15 days later), and one month after the program was completed (T3). Baseline data collected for all participants included: (1) demographics (gender, age, marital status and social status); (2) clinical characteristics (medical diagnosis, functional status, presence of medical symptoms, like pain, fatigue or depression); (3) the Herth Hope Index [HHI]; (4) the McGill Quality of Life Questionnaire [MQoL]; and (5) the Hospice Comfort Questionnaire [HCQ].The intervention group received the HPP, and the control group received a standard care and palliative care approach provided locally by a multidisciplinary healthcare team. After the intervention (T2 and T3), participants from the two groups completed the HHI, MQoL and HCQ through a face-to-face interview by a research assistant. As participants were suffering from a severe illness, we made every effort to simplify survey completion, including reading the survey over the phone or during home visits. Most follow-up contacts were made by home visitation and telephone, with the remainder occurring during normal clinic appointments. All of the participants, care providers, and the research assistant who assessed the participant’s outcomes were blind to the intervention.