Enhancing Connections Program in Improving Family Adjustment in Patients With Incurable Cancer

November 10, 2021 updated by: Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center

Family Functioning and Bereavement Outcomes Following the Enhancing Connections Program in Palliative Care

This pilot clinical trial studies how well the Enhancing Connections program improves family adjustment in patients with incurable cancer. Participating in an educational program with a co-parent to learn about ways to talk to a child about cancer may help parents and co-parents support their child with the parent's cancer and may help families communicate and function better.

Study Overview

Status

Status

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

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

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES:

I. Test the feasibility of the study protocol in advanced cancer patients and co-parents (recruitment/retention, dosage and fidelity of the intervention; program acceptability of program; and logistics).

II. Evaluate the short-term impact of the program on the diagnosed parents', co-parents' and children's adjustment and family functioning using a within group design (pre- and posttest design).

III. Compare outcomes from the Enhancing Connections Palliative Program with similar outcomes obtained from the completed phase III trial (between group design) for the patients and children outcomes.

IV. Evaluate the longer term impact of the program on the co-parents' and children's adjustment, including bereavement outcomes when appropriate, using a within and across group design (pre- and posttest design).

OUTLINE:

Patients and co-parents participate in the Enhancing Connections program consisting of 5 sessions over 1 hour each in the clinic or over the telephone. Session topics include managing cancer-related emotions when talking to children, developing deep listening skills, initiating difficult cancer-related conversations with children, interpreting a child's behavior, recognizing newly acquired gains from the program, and identifying available resources that can be used after program completion.

After completion of the study, participants are followed-up at 6 months.

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.
15

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
    • Washington
      • Seattle, Washington, United States, 98109
        • Fred Hutch/University of Washington Cancer Consortium

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

5 years to 65 years (Child, Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

PATIENTS

  • Ages 25-65 years
  • Have a diagnosis of incurable cancer of any type; at any time in the diagnosis as long as they have at least a 4 month life expectancy based on the opinion of the attending physician
  • Read and write English among their languages of choice
  • Parent must live at least 50% of the time in the home and have a child 5-17 years old living at home who has been told their parent's cancer diagnosis

CO-PARENTS

  • Co-parents must reside with the consenting eligible cancer participant (and child) at least 50% of the time and be actively participating in the care of the child
  • If a biological parent lives in the home, and is physically well themselves, this person must be the co-parent
  • If a biological parent does not live in the home (or has died), the co-parent does not have to be a biological parent; therefore, co-parents may be step-parents, lesbian, gay, bi-sexual or transgender (LGBT) partners, grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc if they otherwise meet eligibility criteria
  • He or she can read and write English among their languages of choice and agrees to attend the patient intervention sessions in person or by telephone

CHILDREN

  • The patient and co-parent must agree to focus on the same child throughout the study and consent to have the child participate before the child's assent will be sought
  • Children aged 5-13 years of age will participate with a waiver of assent
  • Children aged 14-17 will assent to participate in the research study by signing a separate assent form
  • Children of formal assenting age will be eligible to participate if they can read and write English among their languages of choice

ALL PARTICIPANTS

  • Participants must live within 35 miles of the University of Washington, Seattle, WA to receive the in-person version of the intervention
  • Parents and co-parents selecting the telephone version of the intervention may live any distance from the University of Washington

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients will be excluded if they are enrolled in hospice at time of enrollment; however, they will be allowed to continue in the study if they enroll in hospice after beginning the study
  • The triad will be ineligible if any member lives in the home less than 50% of the time
  • If any member of the triad retracts consent or assent prior to completion of the post-intervention surveys, then all members will be excluded from the study thereafter
  • The child will be excluded if he or she has learning challenges as assessed by the patient or co-parent; patients and co-parents will be instructed to consider any formal diagnoses of a learning disability of the presence of an Individual Education Plan (IEP) when making this assessment

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: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group 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: Supportive Care (Enhancing Connections program)
Patients and co-parents participate in the Enhancing Connections program consisting of 5 sessions over 1 hour each in the clinic or over the telephone. Session topics include managing cancer-related emotions when talking to children, developing deep listening skills, initiating difficult cancer-related conversations with children, interpreting a child's behavior, recognizing newly acquired gains from the program, and identifying available resources that can be used after program completion.
Other: Questionnaire Administration
Ancillary studies
Other: Communication Intervention
Complete Enhancing Connections program

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 Enhancing Connections program in advanced cancer patients and co-parents
Time Frame: Up to 2 years
Recruitment and retention of all triads will be monitored. Dosage and fidelity will be monitored for each intervention session. Program acceptability (per session, overall, duration of program, interval between intervention sessions) will be assessed from a debriefing interview. For logistics four areas will be monitored: rate of receipt of mailed materials both to participants and from participants; duration and type (whether telephone or in-person) of intervention sessions; rate of success in scheduling and completing intervention sessions with patient and co-parent; and quality of data on baseline, post-intervention and follow-up measures.
Up to 2 years
Change in adjustment and family functioning
Time Frame: Baseline to 6 months
Descriptive statistics (e.g. means, medians) will be used to describe the Enhancing Connections palliative care population. Parents', co-parents and children's baseline scores [parent-reported] on standardized questionnaires will be compared with post-intervention and 6 month follow-up scores on the same measures.
Baseline to 6 months
Outcomes from the Enhancing Connections Palliative Program as measured by the Child Behavior Check List
Time Frame: Up to 2 years
Linear mixed modeling based on Maximum Likelihood Estimation will be used to test the differences between the Child Behavior Check List results for the Enhancing Connections Palliative Program and the completed phase III trial (EC-R01).
Up to 2 years
Change in adjustment as measured by post-traumatic growth scores
Time Frame: Baseline to 6 months
Enhancing Connection Palliative Program parents', co-parents' and children's post-traumatic growth scores will be compared with follow-up (6 month) scores on the same measure.
Baseline to 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.
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center

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: Elizabeth Loggers, Fred Hutch/University of Washington Cancer Consortium

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.
April 5, 2017

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.
September 12, 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.
November 30, 2018

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).
February 8, 2017

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.
February 8, 2017

First Posted (Actual)

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.
February 10, 2017

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.
November 17, 2021

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.
November 10, 2021

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.
November 1, 2021

More Information

Terms related to this study

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.
  • 9667 (Other Identifier: Fred Hutch/University of Washington Cancer Consortium)
  • P30CA015704 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)
  • NCI-2016-01640 (Registry Identifier: CTRP (Clinical Trial Reporting Program))
  • RG9218011 (Other Identifier: Fred Hutch/University of Washington Cancer Consortium)

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

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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