NCT07136584

SOS for Caregiver Wellbeing

SOS for Caregiver Wellbeing: Testing the Feasibility of a Screening, Outcomes and Support (SOS) Model for Parents and Caregivers of Children With Chronic Conditions

• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 100 (estimated)
• Sponsor: Murdoch Childrens Research Institute · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: —
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

Parents and caregivers of children who have a chronic condition carry a large care burden and are at higher risk of having mental health symptoms. This study aims to see if completion of a mental health questionnaire by parents / caregivers at or before the child's paediatric appointment can help identify any symptoms of stress, anxiety or depression. Following the questionnaire, parents / caregivers will be provided with the results of the questionnaire along with an information resource sheet. This will include information on anxiety, stress and depression, as well as different agencies they can contact to get support. Parents / caregivers will be followed up at 3 and 6 months to see if they have any changes to mental health and quality of life, and whether they accessed any support services. The primary aim for this trial is to see whether parents / caregivers find this process acceptable, and whether it can work in a busy hospital clinic.

Detailed description

This single-arm prospective trial aims to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of implementing a mental health screening and support pathway (the SOS model) for parents and caregivers of children with chronic conditions (CMs) in an outpatient clinic setting. The study will recruit 100 parents and caregivers attending the Royal Children's Hospital (RCH) outpatient clinics. For the remainder of this protocol, all parents and caregivers will be referred to as 'caregivers.' The primary objective is to test a systematic approach where: * Caregivers undergo mental health screening using validated measures. * Receive feedback on their mental health screening measure scores from their RCH clinician or a researcher * All caregivers are provided with resources on appropriate support pathways The support framework will include: * Psychoeducational resources describing symptoms of anxiety, depression and stress * Description of referral pathways to primary care physicians for mental health plans, enabling access to government-funded psychological support * Connection to existing online mental health resources By evaluating this approach, the trial seeks to determine the: * acceptability of the screening process to both caregivers and clinicians * feasibility of screening and feedback for caregivers attending their child's outpatient hospital appointment * practicality of integrating mental health screening and feedback into routine outpatient care * effectiveness of the referral pathways in connecting parents to appropriate support services * barriers or facilitators to implementing this model of care The findings will inform whether this screening and support model could be implemented as part of standard care for caregivers of children with chronic conditions.

Conditions

• Mental Health
• Depression and Burden in Caregivers
• Anxiety Depression
• Stress
• Caregiver Anxiety
• Parent of Child With Chronic Life-threatening Illness

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	Screening, Outcomes and Referral Pathways	All participants complete baseline screening with follow up at 3 and 6 months. A key feature of the study is that a standardised information resource sheet (to community-based services) is provided to all caregivers, regardless of their screening scores. Primary outcomes focus on implementation feasibility and acceptability, while secondary outcomes examine service uptake and longitudinal measurement of caregiver wellbeing. This differs from existing research by providing resources universally rather than only to those scoring above clinical thresholds. Our longitudinal follow-up addresses an evidence gap identified in our systematic review - limited published data on downstream effects on actual service uptake and mental health outcomes over time. The services in the resource sheet also link to routine clinical care that doesn't require specialist support programs with dedicated funding.

Timeline

• Start date: 2025-10-22
• Primary completion: 2026-04-28
• Completion: 2026-04-28
• First posted: 2025-08-22
• Last updated: 2025-11-26

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Australia