Measuring Hope and Hopelessness in Cancer

January 14, 2009 updated by: Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
The purpose of this study is to develop an accurate and useful way of measuring patients' thoughts and feelings about hope and hopelessness as they relate to their illness. Doctors and psychologists from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Calvary Hospital, the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, and Fordham University are working together to design a new measure. Findings from this research will help us study the nature of illness and develop improved methods of diagnosis and treatment. We hope what we learn from you will help us learn more about how to care better for patients with cancer and other severe illnesses.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

288

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
    • New York
      • New York, New York, United States, 10065
        • Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

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

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Subjects will be recruited in equal numbers from Memorial Hospital and Calvary Hospital or Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre at each stage of data collection.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • 18 years of age or older.
  • Patients who are able to understand verbal and written English.
  • Diagnosis of cancer.
  • Patients with advanced cancer receiving ambulatory or inpatient care at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. Patients at Calvary Hospital and Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre admitted for palliative care will also be eligible for participation in this study

Exclusion Criteria:

  • The presence of a psychotic mental disorder (e.g., Bipolar Disorder, Schizophrenia, Schizo-affective illness, psychosis due to substance abuse) as indicated in medical chart.
  • Cognitive impairment so severe (i.e., Mini-Mental State exam score of less than 20) that, in the opinion of the Principal Investigator or Project Coordinator, would interfere with a patient's ability to give informed consent for research.

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

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Intervention / Treatment
1
Terminally Ill patients
Behavioral: questionnaires
A battery of questionnaires concerning your thoughts, opinions, and attitudes about your illness and outlook on life. In addition, we will ask to provide some background information about you and your illness. The questions will take approximately 30 to 45 minutes to complete. You fill out the questionnaire once only.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
To explore and better understand the construct of hopelessness as it applies to terminally ill cancer patients.
Time Frame: conclusion of study
conclusion of study
To develop a brief self-report measure of hopelessness grounded in the construct of hopelessness as it applies to terminally ill cancer patients.
Time Frame: conclusion of study
conclusion of study

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
To establish the reliability and validity of this newly developed measure of hopelessness in a large sample of terminally ill cancer patients.
Time Frame: conclusion of study
conclusion of study

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Collaborators

Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Australia
Fordham University
Calvary Hospital, Bronx, NY

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: William Breitbart, MD, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

Helpful Links

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

January 1, 2005

Primary Completion (Actual)

January 1, 2009

Study Completion (Actual)

January 1, 2009

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

December 21, 2007

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

December 21, 2007

First Posted (Estimate)

December 28, 2007

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

January 15, 2009

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 14, 2009

Last Verified

January 1, 2009

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 04-145

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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