Comic Art Creation as Supportive Care in Cancer Patients and Caregivers

City of Hope

Status: Completed

Conditions: Malignant Neoplasm; Caregiver

Treatments: Other: Questionnaire Administration; Procedure: Art Therapy; Procedure: Quality-of-Life Assessment; Other: Interview

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other; NIH

Identifiers

NCT03067766

16251

NCI-2017-00287 (Registry Identifier)

Details and patient eligibility

About

This pilot clinical trial studies how well comic art creation works as supportive care in cancer patients and caregivers. Participating in a comic art creation workshop may help patients and their family members or friends share their medical experience through storytelling and drawings in a way that can, but does not have to, reflect the real world. It may also help improve emotional wellbeing and communication in cancer patients and caregivers.

Full description

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES:

I. To determine the feasibility of using a 10 week (Workshop A) or a 5 week (Workshops B-C) comic art creation workshops for supportive care.

II. To determine the feasibility of studying comic art creation workshops for supportive care.

III. To describe those factors affecting the ability or inability of participants to engage in the workshop.

SECONDARY OBJECTIVES:

I. To describe changes in emotional wellbeing and communication of patients and caretakers/family/friends.

TERTIARY OBJECTIVES:

I. Identify the methods that most engage supportive care patients and caretakers.

II. Identify the social and cultural interactions most impacted by comics creation.

III. To describe participant feedback regarding the intervention and study design.

OUTLINE: Patients are assigned to 1 of 2 arms.

WORKSHOP A: Patients and a family member, caretaker, or friend participate in an artist-led comic art therapy workshop over 2 hours once a week for 10 weeks. Patients and participants receive a range of assignments that focus on creative art and experimentation with materials and storytelling in order to make a series of small handmade books that relate directly or indirectly to their experience with cancer. Patients undergo a qualitative interview over approximately 45 minutes and complete validated questionnaires within 4 weeks prior to the workshop and midway through the workshop.

WORKSHOPS B AND C: Patients participate in an artist-led comic art therapy workshop over 3 hours once a week for 5 weeks. Patients receive a range of assignments that focus on creative art and experimentation with materials and storytelling in order to make a series of small handmade books that relate directly or indirectly to their experience with cancer. Patients undergo a qualitative interview over approximately 45 minutes and complete validated questionnaires within 4 weeks prior to the workshop.

After completion of the study, patients are followed up at 1 and 6 weeks.

Enrollment: 8 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion and exclusion criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

• Documented written informed consent of the participant

• Workshop A (2017 - 10 weeks- City of Hope)

  • Either one of the following:
  • City of Hope (COH) cancer patient (all types and at any time point of their disease) OR
  • Caretaker/friend family member of the cancer patient

• Workshops B and C (2018 - 5 weeks - City of Hope)

  • Cancer patients (all types and at any time point in their disease)
  • Note: documentation to confirm this eligibility criteria will not be requested; self-reporting as a cancer patient will be considered adequate

• Ability read and speak English

• Willingness and ability to complete the entire workshop, including the interviews and questionnaires (there is no predetermined qualification with regard to the ability to hold an artist tool; accommodations and creative solutions will be made to facilitate participation)

Trial design

Primary purpose: Supportive Care

Allocation: Non-Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

---

8 participants in 2 patient groups

Workshop A (10 weeks - comic art creation workshop)

Experimental group

Description:

Patients and a family member, caretaker, or friend participate in an artist-led comic art therapy workshop over 2 hours once a week for 10 weeks. Patients and participants receive a range of assignments that focus on creative art and experimentation with materials and storytelling in order to make a series of small handmade books that relate directly or indirectly to their experience with cancer. Patients undergo a qualitative interview over approximately 45 minutes and complete validated questionnaires within 4 weeks prior to the workshop and midway through the workshop.

Treatment:

Other: Interview

Procedure: Quality-of-Life Assessment

Procedure: Art Therapy

Other: Questionnaire Administration

Workshop B and C (5 weeks - comic art creation workshop)

Experimental group

Description:

Patients participate in an artist-led comic art therapy workshop over 3 hours once a week for 5 weeks. Patients receive a range of assignments that focus on creative art and experimentation with materials and storytelling in order to make a series of small handmade books that relate directly or indirectly to their experience with cancer. Patients undergo a qualitative interview over approximately 45 minutes and complete validated questionnaires within 4 weeks prior to the workshop.

Treatment:

Other: Interview

Procedure: Quality-of-Life Assessment

Procedure: Art Therapy

Other: Questionnaire Administration