Improving Self-Management in Head and Neck Cancer

January 14, 2020 updated by: Hoda Badr, Baylor College of Medicine
By teaching skills to improve the coordination of care and support in couples coping with head and neck cancer (HNC), this couple-based psychosocial intervention holds great promise for improving self-management, reducing costly hospitalizations and treatment interruptions, and improving both partners' quality of life. Home-based delivery will enhance future dissemination and outreach to those who do not have access to psychosocial services or live far away from their care centers. If found effective, the intervention may also have salutary downstream effects on the health and well-being of HNC patients and their partners.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Patients treated with radiation (XRT) for head and neck cancers (HNCs) experience significant side effects such as abnormally reduced salivation, difficulty swallowing, and taste changes even after they have been definitively treated. To control side effects and minimize discomfort, intensive self-care protocols are prescribed, but adherence is poor. Partners (spouses/significant others) can play a critical role in supporting adherence, but often lack knowledge, experience high rates of distress, and display poor communication (e.g., critical or controlling), that can interfere with patient self-care. The investigators have developed a home-based couples skills-training (CST) intervention that teaches: 1) self-management skills to control/prevent side-effects; 2) communication skills to facilitate coordination of care and support; and 3) strategies to improve communal coping and confidence in the ability to work as a team. The goal is to reduce healthcare utilization and improve multiple domains of patient and partner QOL. Specific aims are to: develop and evaluate the content and materials of the CST intervention (AIM 1) and evaluate its feasibility and acceptability (AIM 2). The multidisciplinary team will review and evaluate the content we have already developed based on the ongoing work with HNC couples (K07). Once content is finalized, tailored manuals will be developed for patients and partners and evaluated through two focus groups (AIM 1). The investigators expect that most couples (> 60%) approached will agree to participate and that CST will be well-accepted (AIM 2). Knowledge gained will be used to refine CST and to collect data on effect sizes and variation for a larger trial. Innovation: CST takes a multiple-behavioral approach to addressing and preventing HNC treatment side effects and, in the process, seeks to improve multiple domains of QOL. It is also the first program in HNC that actively involves both members of the couple to address barriers in the home environment in which self-management occurs. Finally, this study conceptualizes the couple relationship as a resource and leverages that resource to improve patient care and outcomes. Impact: Home-based delivery will enhance future dissemination and outreach to the target population. Overall, CST holds great promise for improving patient self-management behaviors, reducing costly hospitalizations and treatment interruptions, and improving multiple aspects of patient and partner QOL.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
60

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Texas
      • Houston, Texas, United States, 77030
        • Baylor College of Medicine

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • patient is initiating radiotherapy for HNC
  • patient has Karnofsky score > 50 (ambulatory & capable of self-care)
  • patient lives with a partner (spouse/significant other - includes homo- and heterosexual couples)
  • patient/partner is able to provide informed consent
  • patient/partner is > age 18.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • patient has significant comorbidities (e.g., HIV, transplant), or another illness that may require hospitalization
  • patient/partner cannot read or communicate using spoken English.
  • individuals with diminished mental capacity
  • prisoners
  • pregnant women

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Couples Skill-Training (CST)
CST provides education about acute and long-term side-effects of HNC and teaches: 1) self-management skills to control/prevent side-effects; 2) communication skills to facilitate coordination of care; and, 3) strategies to improve communal coping and confidence in the ability to work as a team.
Behavioral: Couples Skill-Training (CST)
Patients and partners each receive a workbook and 6 one-hour telephone sessions with a Masters level trained interventionist. Manual content is tailored based on role (patient or partner). Couples participate together via speaker phone for half the sessions and patients and partners receive separate (individual) intervention calls for the other half of the sessions.
No Intervention: Usual Medical Care (UMC)
Patients receive standard symptom management education by their health care team.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Feasibility of the CST intervention as assessed by recruitment and retention rates
Time Frame: 6 months
recruitment and retention rates
6 months
Acceptability of the CST intervention as assessed by the program evaluation questionnaire
Time Frame: 6 months
satisfaction with the intervention by completing a program evaluation questionnaire developed by the study team that asks about perceived skills mastery and satisfaction with program content and logistics
6 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
PROMIS short form anxiety and depression
Time Frame: 6 months
measures distress with Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) short form for anxiety and depression
6 months
Patient QOL measured by MD Anderson Symptom Inventory - Head and Neck (MDASI-HN)
Time Frame: 6 months
measures QOL for patients
6 months
Partners QOL measured by Short Form 12 (SF12)
Time Frame: 6 months
measures QOL for partners
6 months
Short Form Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS7)
Time Frame: 6 months
measures Relationship functioning
6 months
Healthcare utilization as assessed by number of hospitalizations and unplanned clinic visits
Time Frame: 6 months
number of hospitalizations and unplanned clinic visits
6 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Baylor College of Medicine

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
National Cancer Institute (NCI)

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Hoda Badr, PhD, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
November 1, 2014

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
October 1, 2018

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
April 1, 2019

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
April 1, 2015

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
April 3, 2015

First Posted (Estimate)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
April 6, 2015

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
January 18, 2020

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
January 14, 2020

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
January 1, 2020

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • GCO 12-1641
  • R21CA178478 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)
  • H-48778 (Other Identifier: Baylor College of Medicine)

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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