Expressive Writing in Improving the Wellbeing or Comforting Capacity of Caregivers of Patients With Cancer

University of Washington

Status: Completed

Conditions: Caregiver

Treatments: Other: Questionnaire Administration; Other: Sham Intervention; Other: Psychosocial Support for Caregiver

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other; NIH

Identifiers

NCT02339870

9216 (Other Identifier)

P30CA015704 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

NCI-2014-02511 (Registry Identifier)

Details and patient eligibility

About

This randomized clinical trial studies expressive writing in improving the wellbeing or comforting capacity of caregivers of patients with cancer. Expressive writing is a type of intervention that asks people to write about important topics (in this case participants' experience with their spouses'/partners' cancer) and their emotions/feelings surrounding them. Expressive writing, including benefit finding and traumatic disclosure, may be a type of at-home-therapy that caregivers can utilize in an attempt to increase their own wellbeing, offer better comfort to cancer patients, and by association, help cancer patients cope with and manage the cancer experience.

Full description

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES:

I. To test whether one, or both, types of expressive writing impact spouses of cancer survivors' reported emotional wellbeing and reported ability to provide comfort as compared to a control group.

OUTLINE: Patients are randomized to 1 of 2 arms or assigned to a control arm.

ARM I (EXPRESSIVE DISCLOSURE): Participants complete an anonymous 20 minute writing exercise at home on their computer once per week for 2 weeks (days 2, 9, and 16 for a total of 3 sessions). Participants write about their emotions pertaining to managing and providing care for the cancer patient.

ARM II (BENEFIT FINDING): Participants complete an anonymous 20 minute writing exercise at home on their computer once per week for 2 weeks (days 2, 9, and 16 for a total of 3 sessions). Participants write about any benefits that have arisen because of the cancer diagnosis.

ARM III (CONTROL): Participants complete an anonymous 20 minute writing exercise at home on their computer once per week for 2 weeks (days 2, 9, and 16 for a total of 3 sessions). Participants write about an emotionally neutral topic.

After completion of study, participants are followed up at day 17.

Enrollment: 100 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 19+ years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Participants must be a spouse or domestic partner of a cancer survivor and will be recruited via the Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant Database at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (FHCRC)
• Participants must have been in their spousal relationship for at least the past 1 year

Exclusion criteria

• If participants are unable to access a computer they will be excluded

Trial design

Primary purpose: Supportive Care

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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100 participants in 3 patient groups

Arm I (expressive disclosure)

Experimental group

Description:

Participants complete an anonymous 20 minute writing exercise at home on their computer once per week for 2 weeks (days 2, 9, and 16 for a total of 3 sessions). Participants write about their emotions pertaining to managing and providing care for the cancer patient.

Treatment:

Other: Psychosocial Support for Caregiver

Other: Questionnaire Administration

Other: Psychosocial Support for Caregiver

Arm II (benefit finding)

Experimental group

Description:

Participants complete an anonymous 20 minute writing exercise at home on their computer once per week for 2 weeks (days 2, 9, and 16 for a total of 3 sessions). Participants write about any benefits that have arisen because of the cancer diagnosis.

Treatment:

Other: Psychosocial Support for Caregiver

Other: Questionnaire Administration

Other: Psychosocial Support for Caregiver

Arm III (control)

Sham Comparator group

Description:

Participants complete an anonymous 20 minute writing exercise at home on their computer once per week for 2 weeks (days 2, 9, and 16 for a total of 3 sessions). Participants write about an emotionally neutral topic.

Treatment:

Other: Sham Intervention

Other: Questionnaire Administration