2.3. Intervention—Hope Promotion Program (HPP)
DISEASE, COMPLICATIONS
The intervention was designed based on the Narrative Communication Model of Hope Seeking Intervention [The participants randomly assigned to the intervention group were given the individual-based intervention (HPP) in three home visitation sessions conducted by a nurse. Each session lasted between 90 min and 2 h 30 min, depending on the patient’s need, capacity and will. The interval between sessions was scheduled to last two to three days, so that the full intervention occurred over 10 days. The possibility of adjusting session times according to the client’s conditions was considered whenever complications associated with the disease or treatments prevented the session. Participants were able to have a family member present whenever they wished, which happened in half of the situations. Each participant had an equal number of sessions with the same predetermined objectives.The first session, with the objective of awakening the self-perception of hope and expressing it verbally, was accompanied by viewing a Portuguese adaptation of the “Living with hope” video [The second session was focused on the expression of feelings and emotions related to the experience of the disease, and on working positively on the client’s capacities to carry out hope-promoting activities. An activity guide was provided to the patient and was explored during the session. Some hope-focused activities were proposed, such as gratitude exercises, therapeutic and forgiveness letters (writing someone a letter), a hope album (remembering memories of hope from the past), or stories of the present and a hope kit (collecting objects that are hopeful and significant) [The third session’s main objective was to facilitate the transcending of the suffering associated with the advanced disease through teaching and training relaxation using mental images [