Parenting Support for Families with Cancer
Recruiting in Palo Alto (17 mi)
Age: 18+
Sex: Any
Travel: May Be Covered
Time Reimbursement: Varies
Trial Phase: Academic
Recruiting
Sponsor: M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
Disqualifiers: Non-English speakers, No internet access
No Placebo Group
Trial Summary
What is the purpose of this trial?
This clinical trial examines the acceptability and effect of a parenting support intervention for families coping with solid tumor that has spread to other places in the body (metastatic) or has come back (recurrent). Parenting support program may help to reduce common parenting concerns, improve communication between parents and children about cancer, and improve the overall psychological wellbeing of parents.
Do I have to stop taking my current medications for this trial?
The trial information does not specify whether you need to stop taking your current medications. It seems focused on parenting support rather than medication changes.
What data supports the effectiveness of the Parenting Support Intervention treatment for families with cancer?
Research shows that parents with cancer often face parenting concerns and psychological distress, and a novel parent support program has shown initial evidence of being helpful. Additionally, hospital-based parenting support is seen as crucial by both patients and health professionals, indicating the importance of such interventions in addressing parenting challenges in cancer care.12345
Is the Parenting Support Intervention safe for humans?
How is the Parenting Support Intervention treatment different from other treatments for families with cancer?
The Parenting Support Intervention is unique because it focuses on helping parents with cancer maintain their parenting roles and support their families, rather than directly treating the cancer itself. It aims to strengthen family bonds, identify family strengths, and provide coping strategies, which is different from traditional cancer treatments that focus on medical aspects of the disease.1891011
Eligibility Criteria
This trial is for parents over 18 with metastatic or recurrent solid tumors, who have at least one child aged 4-12 they're currently living and co-parenting with. They must be able to consent and complete self-reports (no severe cognitive deficits). Both parent and a spousal caregiver must speak English and have internet access.Inclusion Criteria
Patients must have a spousal caregiver over the age of 18 who co-parents the child(ren) (i.e. share custody) and is willing and able to consent to participate
Patients must be at least 18 years old
Patients must have at least one dependent child between the ages of 4 and 12 and currently living with the parent
See 3 more
Exclusion Criteria
Patients and caregivers who do not read and speak English and who do not have access to the internet
Trial Timeline
Screening
Participants are screened for eligibility to participate in the trial
2-4 weeks
Intervention
Participants receive education materials and attend 2 weekly videoconference intervention sessions over 45 minutes each. Caregivers attend 2 additional weekly intervention sessions.
2 weeks
4 videoconference sessions
Follow-up
Participants are monitored for psychological symptoms, parenting concerns, and healthcare utilization after intervention
12 weeks
Follow-up at 6 and 12 weeks for Trial 1; 12 weeks for Trial 2
Treatment Details
Interventions
- Parenting Support Intervention (Behavioural Intervention)
Trial OverviewThe study tests a parenting support program aimed at reducing parenting concerns, improving communication about cancer between parents and children, and enhancing parental psychological wellbeing in families dealing with advanced cancer.
Participant Groups
2Treatment groups
Experimental Treatment
Active Control
Group I: Group I (education material, videoconference session)Experimental Treatment2 Interventions
Examine the acceptability of a parenting support intervention in 10 patients with an incurable cancer and their spousal caregivers (cohort A) and 10 patients with an advanced cancer diagnosis and their family caregivers (cohort B).
Group II: Group II (waitlist control)Active Control2 Interventions
Participants receive standard of care.
Find a Clinic Near You
Research Locations NearbySelect from list below to view details:
M D Anderson Cancer CenterHouston, TX
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Who Is Running the Clinical Trial?
M.D. Anderson Cancer CenterLead Sponsor
National Cancer Institute (NCI)Collaborator
References
The Parenting Concerns Questionnaire: A validation study with Portuguese parents with cancer. [2021]To examine the psychometric properties of the Parenting Concerns Questionnaire (PCQ) in a sample of Portuguese parents with cancer.
Supportive Care for Dual Caregivers who Care for Their Partner With Cancer and Their Young Children. [2023]Advanced cancer patients and their spouses who parent minor children report parenting concerns and increased psychological distress. This single-arm trial examined the feasibility and initial evidence for efficacy of a novel parent support program.
Australian Hospital-Based Parenting Support for Adults with Incurable End-Stage Cancer: Parent Perspectives. [2021]Parenting support needs of patients diagnosed with incurable end-stage cancer (IESC) with young families are not addressed as part of routine hospital health care. Their support needs and experiences of hospital-based parenting support are largely unknown. The study aims to explore hospital-based parenting support delivery from patient and co-parent perspectives in context to their parenting experience and support needs. Exploratory, prospective, cross-sectional qualitative design. Semi-structured in-depth interviews with eight adult patients with IESC and four co-parents purposively recruited from a tertiary hospital in Melbourne, Australia. Findings were thematically analyzed. Parents desire support with challenging multidimensional parenting issues. Organization, health professionals (HP), and parental-based factors hinder and facilitate optimal service provision. Responsibility rests with HP to initiate parenting support. Interdisciplinary family-focused support offered throughout IESC health-care journey is key. Patient-centered family-focused support is warranted. Surmountable challenges lie with management and HPs to address barriers affecting optimal service delivery.
Hospital Parenting Support for Adults with Incurable End-Stage Cancer: Multidisciplinary Health Professional Perspectives. [2021]Patients with incurable end-stage cancer (IESC) who are parenting minor-age children often experience parenting-related distress. Parenting concerns are not always addressed as part of routine hospital-based psychosocial care. Currently, there is a lack multidisciplinary health professional (HP) perspectives in this area. An exploratory study of hospital-based HP perspectives of adult patients' and coparents' parenting experiences, support needs, and parenting supportive care practice was conducted. Twelve multidisciplinary HPs from one Australian tertiary hospital participated in a semistructured focus group and interviews. Data were audio recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using thematic analysis. Results showed HPs were cognizant of patients' and coparents' diverse parenting support needs and experiences and other aspects that comprise best practice. However, multilevel organization, HP, and patient/coparent barriers impeded optimal practice. Barriers included a nonsystemized approach to screening patients' parenting status and parenting support needs, inadequate resources, limited professional support, hospital environment, and parent psychosocial factors. This article provides feasible options for addressing practice barriers. Reviewing what factors influence optimal parenting focus from interdisciplinary HP perspectives helped identify potential strategies that could influence a shift from medical-focused care to more holistic family-focused patient care.
A pilot feasibility study of a group-delivered cancer parenting program: Enhancing Connections-Group. [2022]The purpose of this study was to examine the feasibility and short-term impact of a 5-session fully manualized, group-delivered cancer parenting education program to diagnosed parents or surrogate parents with a school-age child.
Efficacy of a support intervention designed to improve parents' communication with children dealing with parental cancer: a randomized pilot trial. [2022]Cancer-related communication is critical for parents' and children's adaptation to the disease. This randomized pilot study was conducted to test the feasibility, acceptability, and efficacy of a 4-session intervention designed to improve parents' communication.
Study protocol for Enhancing Parenting In Cancer (EPIC): development and evaluation of a brief psycho-educational intervention to support parents with cancer who have young children. [2022]Parents with cancer have high rates of psychological morbidity, and their children are at risk of poor psychosocial outcomes, particularly in the context of parental distress and poor family communication. Parents express concerns about the impact of cancer on their children and report a lack of professional guidance in meeting their children's needs. Few parenting interventions exist and current interventions have extensive infrastructure demands making them unsuitable for routine use in most health settings. The aims of this study are to develop and establish the feasibility and acceptability of a novel and accessible psycho-educational intervention to improve parenting efficacy and decrease parental stress among adults with cancer who have children aged 3-12 years. The intervention will be suitable for parents with cancer who are receiving treatment with a view to longer term survival, irrespective of cancer diagnosis, and their respective co-parents.
How to support parenting in patients with cancer and co-parents? From research to practice. [2023]When a parent is diagnosed with cancer, the entire family is impacted. Patients with cancer and co-parents may no longer feel able to fulfill their parenting roles. The aims of this article are to describe interventions designed to support parenting in the oncological context and to make suggestions for the development and assessment of such interventions.
Parents' experiences of a Family Support Program when a parent has incurable cancer. [2022]The Family Support Program was created to support children and parenting when one of the parents has incurable cancer. We chose a family-based approach to support parent's coping and to help families pull together, identify strengths in the family and learn how to seek help.
Balancing Illness and Parental Demands: Coping With Cancer While Raising Minor Children. [2015]To explore the cancer experience of parents and their perceptions of supportive strategies to assist them with illness- and family-related challenges.
Psychosocial interventions targeting parenting distress among parents with cancer - A systematic review and narrative synthesis of available interventions. [2023]Balancing having cancer and parenting a major stressor, and may result in parenting distress, negatively affecting the whole family. To provide adequate support, knowledge of existing psychosocial interventions are crucial to guide future interventions. This study aimed to describe available psychosocial interventions for parents with cancer and dependent children (