Namaste Care in Managing Terminal Symptoms in Acute Palliative Ward A Feasibility and Pilot Study
Applied/Translational Research
Care Continuum
Singapore Health Biomedical Congress
National Healthcare Group
2 February 2026
This study aimed to assess the practicality and therapeutic impact of implementing Namaste Care within an acute palliative. Findings indicate that Namaste Care is a feasible and potentially efficacious adjunct in managing terminal symptoms such as pain.
Year Submitted: 2025
Published Date: 02 February 2026
Tags: Palliative Care, End-Of-Life Care, Care Continuum, Applied/Translational Research, Quantitative Research
About this Content
Aims
This study aimed to assess the practicality and therapeutic impact of implementing Namaste Care within an acute palliative care setting, particularly in the management of terminal symptoms including pain and delirium.
Background
Patients receiving palliative care frequently endure unrelieved pain and neurocognitive disturbances such as delirium due to the progression of terminal illnesses. Namaste Care, an integrative, multisensory intervention, has shown promise in enhancing symptom management and promoting comfort in end-of-life care.
Methods
A six-month pre-post pilot trial was conducted using validated observational scales which are Richmond Agitation-Sedation Scale (RASS) and Pain Assessment in Advanced Dementia (PAINAD) to measure clinical changes before and after intervention. 30 patient encounters were recorded. Trained nursing personnel delivered Namaste Care sessions twice weekly, each lasting 30 minutes.
Results
RASS scores showed a small effect size (Cohens d = 0.3150), but the difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.0951), as the 95% confidence interval [-0.6408, -0.0404] included zero. Besides, there was a statistically significant reduction in PAINAD scores from pre- to post-intervention (p = 0.035), with a small to moderate effect size (Cohens d = -0.404), and the 95% confidence interval [-0.8172, -0.0495] did not cross zero.
Lessons Learnt
Findings indicate that Namaste Care is a feasible and potentially efficacious adjunct in managing terminal symptoms such as pain, limitations such as restricted sample size and staffing constraints impeded the interventions frequency and scalability. Moreover, the brief prognostic trajectory of palliative patients constrained the longitudinal evaluation of outcomes. Future larger-scale studies are warranted to validate these preliminary findings and to explore optimal implementation strategies.
Keywords
Namaste Care, Acute Palliative Care, Terminal Symptoms, Pain, Delirium
Innovators' Details
Innovators' Details
Healthcare Cluster(s) | National Healthcare Group |
Organization(s) Involved | Tan Tock Seng Hospital |
Platform(s) | Singapore Health Biomedical Congress |
Healthcare Professional Group(s) | Nursing |
Applicable Specialty or Discipline | Nursing, Palliative Medicine, Clinical Research |
Project Lead(s) | Lo Hui Ting, Kristabel Tan Si Ying |
Project Member(s) | Chia Gerk Sin |
Connect with this contributor!
Lo Hui Ting - hui.ting.lo@nhghealth.com.sg
Kristabel Tan Si Ying - kristabel.sy.tan@nhghealth.com.sg