NCT04610034

"Resilient Caregivers" - A Resilience-based Intervention for Distressed Partner Cancer Caregivers

"Resilient Caregivers" - A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Resilience-based Intervention for Distressed Partner Caregivers of Cancer Patients

• Status: Unknown
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 80 (estimated)
• Sponsor: Danish Cancer Society · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

The objective of this study is to develop and test the effectiveness of a resilience-based intervention for distressed partner caregivers of cancer patients in reducing symptoms of anxiety, depression and distress, while improving quality of life and resilience (meta-reflective skill, values clarification and coping strategies).

Detailed description

Informal caregivers of cancer patients often experience significant psychological distress, which may even exceed that of the patient's. Partners or spouses are typically the most important caregiver and emotional support person for the cancer patient, but there is a lack of psychological interventions that specifically target caregiving partners. "Resilient Caregivers" is a novel 7-session group-based program aimed specifically at improving the participant's ability to cope with the stresses of being a partner to a cancer patient. In this randomized trial, the investigators aim to assess the potential efficacy of this program in improving the caregiver's resilience and quality of life, as well as reducing symptoms of anxiety, depression and distress. Outcomes will be assessed at baseline and at 3, 6 and 12-months follow-up.

Conditions

• Distress, Emotional

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	"Resilient Caregivers"	"Resilient Caregivers" is a 7-session group program developed for partner caregivers of patients with cancer (6 weekly sessions and 1 booster session). Each session takes place in groups of approximately 8 participants and lasts for two-and-a-half hours. Sessions 1 to 3 focuses on the caregiver and introduces the resilience components of coping strategies, meta-reflective skill and clarification of values. Sessions 4 and 5 focuses on these components in the relationship between the caregiver and the cancer patient and social support networks respectively, while Session 6 focuses on resilience in relation to self-care and care for the partner. A booster session will be scheduled one month after the end of Session 6 in order to follow-up on the intervention and allow participants to reflect on the benefits and challenges of the program.
OTHER	Care as usual	The control arm will receive usual care, which implies no systematic support.

Timeline

• Start date: 2021-03-19
• Primary completion: 2022-12-01
• Completion: 2023-03-01
• First posted: 2020-10-30
• Last updated: 2021-04-28

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Denmark