ACT-CSP for Family Caregivers of Palliative Care Patients

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Status: Withdrawn

Conditions: Caregiver Burden

Treatments: Behavioral: ACT-CSP

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT06221189

ACT PC Caregivers

Details and patient eligibility

About

The goal of the study is to test the feasibility, acceptability and preliminary efficacy of an acceptance and commitment therapy for supporting caregiver programme (ACT-CSP) on reduction of caregiver burden, anxiety and depressive symptoms and enhancement of caregiving self-efficacy, resilience and quality of life by ACT when compared to usual care, for caregivers of palliative care patients.

Full description

This study will employ a pilot randomized controlled trial recruiting caregivers of palliative care patients to receive either a 3-week acceptance and commitment therapy for supporting caregiver programme (ACT-CSP) plus usual care (n = 15) or usual care only (n = 15). The components of acceptance and commitment therapy process will be emphasized in the intervention programme, which include perspective taking, self-as-context and defusion (i.e. recognizing worry thoughts as thoughts only), identifying values and acceptance of present-moment experience with respect to the values, and committed action. The ACT-CSP will be delivered by a trained ACT facilitator. Participants will be followed up at Week 6 and Week 8 after recruitment to collect data for assessing the study objectives.

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Aged ≥ 18;
• Self- or patient-identified as a family caregiver of an adult patient receiving palliative care at the study site
• Have been taking care of the patient in the past 3 months;
• Able to communicate in Cantonese at the time of recruitment;
• Have access to internet and videoconferencing device such as mobile phone;
• Have caregiver burden as measured by Caregiver Strain Index (CSI) ≥ 7.

Exclusion criteria

• Mentally incompetent (Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) < 23),
• Participating in regular psychosocial interventions.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Other

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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0 participants in 2 patient groups

ACT-CSP

Experimental group

Description:

Three sessions of acceptance and commitment therapy.

Treatment:

Behavioral: ACT-CSP

Usual Care

No Intervention group

Description:

Usual treatment provided at the participating site.