Asset Details
Do you wish to reserve the book?
Supporting patients with advanced cancer and their spouses in parenting minor children: results of a randomized controlled trial
Hey, we have placed the reservation for you!
By the way, why not check out events that you can attend while you pick your title.
Oops! Something went wrong.
Looks like we were not able to place the reservation. Kindly try again later.
Are you sure you want to remove the book from the shelf?
Supporting patients with advanced cancer and their spouses in parenting minor children: results of a randomized controlled trial
Do you wish to request the book?
Supporting patients with advanced cancer and their spouses in parenting minor children: results of a randomized controlled trial
Please be aware that the book you have requested cannot be checked out. If you would like to checkout this book, you can reserve another copy
We have requested the book for you!
Your request is successful and it will be processed during the Library working hours. Please check the status of your request in My Requests.
Oops! Something went wrong.
Looks like we were not able to place your request. Kindly try again later.
Journal Article
Supporting patients with advanced cancer and their spouses in parenting minor children: results of a randomized controlled trial
2025
Overview
Abstract
Introduction
Patients with advanced cancer and their spousal caregivers who parent minor children report unmet parenting concerns and increased psychological distress. Seeking to address these important supportive care needs, this RCT examined the feasibility, acceptability, and initial evidence for the efficacy of a novel psychosocial intervention.
Patients and Methods
Patients with a metastatic solid malignancy and their spouses completed self-reported validated assessments of psychological symptoms and cancer-related parenting outcomes and were then randomized to the parent support intervention or a usual care (UC) group. Both groups were reassessed 6 and 12 weeks later. Dyads randomized to the counselor-led intervention attended the first 2 sessions jointly addressing illness communication and family routines. Spouses individually attended the last 2 sessions focusing on caregiver support and family death preparedness.
Results
Fifty patients and their spouses were randomized. All a priori feasibility benchmarks were met. Attendance in the intervention arm was high with 84% of caregivers attending all 4 sessions (mean = 3.48). The program was evaluated favorably by all patients and spouses deeming the intervention as beneficial. Caregivers rated the individual-level sessions as particularly helpful. Multilevel analyses revealed a significant reduction in anxiety symptoms (P = .05) and improvement in parenting efficacy (P = .03) at 6-week follow-up in the intervention group compared with UC.
Conclusions
The initial testing of our parent support intervention yielded promising results regarding feasibility and preliminary evidence for efficacy for reduced anxiety symptoms and improved parenting efficacy. This program may meet a frequent and distressing psychosocial need that is typically unaddressed by multidisciplinary oncology teams.
