Living With Hope Program for Rural Women Caregivers

Advanced Cancer Clinical Trial

— LWH  

Official title:

Living With Hope: Developing a Psychosocial Supportive Program for Rural Older Women Caregivers of Spouses With Advanced Cancer

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT01081301
• Other study ID #: BEH 08-186
• Secondary ID: 184186
• Status: Completed
• Phase: Phase 2
• First received: March 3, 2010
• Last updated: July 22, 2014
• Start date: January 2009
• Est. completion date: March 2012

Study information

• Verified date: July 2014
• Source: University of Saskatchewan
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Health authority: Canada: Ethics Review Committee
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

Family caregivers of terminally ill persons describe hope as inner strength that will help them continue caregiving. Our research team has developed and pilot tested a Living with Hope Program (LWHP) for caregivers of family members with advanced cancer, with the goal of fostering hope and improving quality of life (www.usask.ca/nursing /research/livingwithhope). The caregivers involved in our pilot test found the LWHP easy to use and we found some evidence to suggest that the program may have increased their hope and improved their quality of life. We would like to further develop and test the LWHP by finding out more about how and how long it might work. We believe it will improve the quality of life of active and bereaved older rural women of persons with advanced cancer and may decrease the number of prescriptions and doctor visits over one year. Since rural women caring for persons with advanced cancer seem to have the least hope, we want to focus on them first before including other caregivers in our research. Two hundred rural women caring for a person with advanced cancer will be asked to take part in this study. Their feelings of control, loss and grief, quality of life and hope will be measured over a year. The numbers of time they visit their physician and how many prescriptions they have over the year will also be collected. This study will contribute to the refinement of a Living with Hope Program that may improve quality of life and personal health of older rural women caring for their spouse with advanced cancer and those who subsequently become bereaved.

Description:

1. Background: The research team has developed and pilot tested a Living with Hope Program (LWHP) for caregivers of family members with advanced cancer. The LWHP includes viewing an award winning Living with Hope video followed by writing a daily journal for two weeks. The pilot test findings suggested that the LWHP is an acceptable and feasible intervention for use by family caregivers. Although the LWHP shows promise in potentially increasing hope and quality of life, further testing and development is needed. Questions remain as to: a) what are the mechanisms through which the LWHP affects outcomes and b) how long it is effective?

2. Purpose: The overall purpose of this time series mixed method study is the further development and testing of the LWHP by:

1. Determining the mechanisms of the LWHP by testing the LWHP conceptual model in which self-efficacy and loss and grief are hypothesized intervening variables for changes in hope, and subsequently quality of life among rural women caring for persons with advanced cancer. In the LWHP model we hypothesize that administration of the LWHP will improve self-efficacy and decrease feelings of loss and grief. This will lead to a positive influence on the proximal outcome of hope and the distal outcome of quality of life.

2. Exploring the longitudinal effects of the LWHP on hope, quality of life and health services utilization among older rural women caring for spouses with advanced cancer. We want to determine if the LWHP has benefits beyond what was found in the pilot. The team will compare baseline scores of hope and quality of life to scores after the LWHP over time and health services utilization (one year prospective number of physician visits and prescriptions compared to the year before the LWHP). This study is unique, as it will follow caregivers over a one-year period. As approximately 50% of these caregivers will become bereaved one month after study enrolment; rather than dropping these caregivers from the study, the team felt that retaining these subjects would add to the understanding of hope, quality of life and health care utilization among caregivers by continuing to follow them through bereavement. Thus, patterns of hope, quality of life and health care services utilization will be delineated over time for active and bereaved caregivers.

3. Research Plan: Using a time-series embedded mixed method design, baseline measures were collected from 122 rural women caring for a person who has advanced cancer. Data collection began January 2009 in 4 sites: Saskatoon Cancer Agency, Alan Blair Cancer Agency, Sunrise Health Region and Regina/Qu'Appelle Health Region. Data collection in Alberta started July 2010 through Alberta Health Services Community Cancer Clinics, and in September 2010 through a mail out through the Alberta Cancer Registry. In January 2011 subjects were enrolled through a mail out through the Saskatchewan Cancer Registry. Subjects who consented to participate in the full study received the LWHP. Subjects were then post tested on the variables at 1 and 2 weeks, 3, 6 and 12 months. Journal entries were copied and transcribed.

4. Data Analysis: Path Analysis will be used to test the model post LWHP at 1 and 2 weeks. Two-factor ANCOVA will determine patterns over time and Cortazzi's narrative analysis will be used to analyze the subjects journals completed as part of the LWHP.

5. Significance: This study will contribute to the refinement of the Living with Hope Program that may improve quality of life and personal health of older rural women caring for their spouse with advanced cancer and those who subsequently become bereaved. The findings will also increase our understanding of the factors influencing hope, quality of life and health in a vulnerable, understudied population that is increasing in numbers with the aging of Canada's population. Family care giving is what sustains patients at the end of life, and with changing demographics and diminishing resources there is a potential that every Canadian will be an informal caregiver at some time. Effective psychosocial supportive interventions, such as the LWHP are critical for their support and well-being.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 36
• Est. completion date: March 2012
• Est. primary completion date: March 2012
• Accepts healthy volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers
• Gender: Female
• Age group: 18 Years and older

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• caring for a person who is diagnosed with advanced cancer, c) home address is outside of metropolitan areas.

Exclusion Criteria:

• caring for a person with advanced cancer and dementia

Study Design

Endpoint Classification: Efficacy Study, Intervention Model: Single Group Assignment, Masking: Open Label, Primary Purpose: Supportive Care

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Advanced Cancer

Intervention

Behavioral:
• Living with Hope Program
The LWHP consists of the LWH film featuring caregivers of patients with advanced cancer describing their hope and a hope activity "Stories of the Present". Following viewing of the video with trained research assistants (RAs), (without discussion) the RA's will instruct the subjects to take 5 minutes at the end of the day and write about their thoughts, challenges and what gave them hope over a 2 week time period. Subjects can choose to use a journal, a computer or audiotape their journals.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
Canada	University of Alberta	Edmonton	Alberta
Canada	University of Saskatchewan	Saskatoon	Saskatchewan

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
University of Saskatchewan

Country where clinical trial is conducted

Canada, 

References & Publications (2)

Duggleby W, Holtslander L, Kylma J, Duncan V, Hammond C, Williams A. Metasynthesis of the hope experience of family caregivers of persons with chronic illness. Qual Health Res. 2010 Feb;20(2):148-58. doi: 10.1177/1049732309358329. — View Citation

Duggleby WD, Williams AM. Living with hope: developing a psychosocial supportive program for rural women caregivers of persons with advanced cancer. BMC Palliat Care. 2010 Mar 26;9:3. doi: 10.1186/1472-684X-9-3. — View Citation

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Herth Hope Index	The Herth Hope Index is a 12 item (1-4 point) Likert scale that delineates three sub-scales of hope: a) temporality and future, b) positive readiness and expectancy, and c) interconnectedness. These three subscales are consistent with descriptions of hope by caregivers in the preliminary work completed by the research team. The subscales also include measures of relationships and spirituality that are considered factors that influence hope. Summative scores range from 12-48, with a higher score denoting greater hope.	Baseline, 1week, 2 weeks, 3, 6 and 12 months	No
Secondary	SF12 Mental Health	The SF12 was developed to be a shorter yet valid alternative to the SF 36 as a measure of quality of life. The SF12 measures 7 concepts: Physical functioning, role limitations due to physical health problems, bodily pain, general healthy vitality, social functioning, role limitations due to emotional problems and mental health. It produces a physical component summary score (PCS), and a mental health component summary score (MCS). Scores range from 0 (poor health) to 100 (perfect health).	baseline, 1 and 2 wks, 3, 6 and 12 months	No
Secondary	General Self-Efficacy Score (GSES)	The scale consists of 10 items with responses from 1-4. The higher the Scores on the General Self Efficacy Scale (which has a range from 10 - 40), indicate higher participant feelings of self-efficacy. The General Self Efficacy Scale was chosen as a measure for this study because it has been found to be a reliable and valid measure in many populations.	Baseline, 1week, 2 weeks, 3, 6 and 12 months	No
Secondary	Non-Death Revised Grief Experience Inventory	The Non-Death Revised Grief Experience Inventory measures grief that is not associated with the death of a person. It is a 22-item scale measuring four domains (existential concerns, depression, tension and guilt, and physical distress) of the grief experience. Responses are scored on a 6-point scale, ranging from slight disagreement to strong agreement, with higher total score indicating more grief and loss. The Non-Death Revised Grief Experience Inventory has a minimum score of 22 and a maximum score of 132.	Baseline, 1week, 2 weeks, 3, 6 and 12 months	No
Secondary	SF12: Physical Health	The SF12 was developed to be a shorter yet valid alternative to the SF 36 as a measure of quality of life. The SF12 measures 7 concepts: Physical functioning, role limitations due to physical health problems, bodily pain, general healthy vitality, social functioning, role limitations due to emotional problems and mental health. It produces a physical component summary score (PCS), and a mental health component summary score (MCS). Scores range from 0 (poor health) to 100 (perfect health).	Baseline, 1week, 2 weeks, 3, 6 and 12 months	No

External Links

•   Living with Hope Research Website