Internet-based Support in Cancer Rehabilitation

August 18, 2009 updated by: Danish Cancer Society

Internet-based Support in the Rehabilitation of Danish Cancer Survivors

This 2-arm randomized trial assessed the incremental effect of providing a lecture on Internet use followed by participation in an Internet-based peer support group following a week-long rehabilitation program, over and above any possible general effect of participation in the rehabilitation program.

Primary outcome measures are adjustment to cancer and mood disturbance.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

794

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

  • Denmark
      • Copenhagen, Denmark, 2100
        • Department of Psychsocial Cancer Research

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

N/A

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Sampling Method

Probability Sample

Study Population

A total of 66 scheduled rehabilitation course weeks were screened for eligibility between 19 April 2004 and 31 December 2005 from the Rehabilitation Centre Dallund in Denmark. All 58 eligible courses including 921 individuals were enrolled and randomized as 27 case weeks (n = 416 persons) and 31 control weeks (n = 505 persons). Baseline assessments were obtained from 799 individuals. Data from 10 individuals (5 from each treatment group) were subsequently excluded, as they did not attend a rehabilitation course week as planned, leaving final study population of 794 individuals analyzed by 'intention-to-treat' (case: n = 361/794; control: n = 433/794). Participants were followed up for 12 months in accordance with their dates of attendance of the rehabilitation course from 19 April 2004 till 31 December 2006.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Cancer survivors who were randomized for or self-selected to a rehabilitation course at the Dallund Rehabilitation Centre were included in the study.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Rehabilitation course weeks in which cancer survivors over 50 years of age were targeted specifically were excluded.

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
Control group
Behavioral: Internet peer-support group

The Internet peer-support groups provided a self-guided space for communication, including an Internet discussion forum, a live chat room and a personal message system. No therapeutic content or information services were offered within the groups.

All Internet groups were run in a browser-based software platform with access through the website of the Danish Cancer Society (http://www.cancer.dk). All discussions were protected by a password and communication was encrypted.

The Internet groups in this study were all closed peer-support groups, accessible only by an invitation received by e-mail after registration for the study. The groups were open to access 24 h a day for 13 months from their individual starting date.
Internet support group Intervention
Behavioral: Internet peer-support group

The Internet peer-support groups provided a self-guided space for communication, including an Internet discussion forum, a live chat room and a personal message system. No therapeutic content or information services were offered within the groups.

All Internet groups were run in a browser-based software platform with access through the website of the Danish Cancer Society (http://www.cancer.dk). All discussions were protected by a password and communication was encrypted.

The Internet groups in this study were all closed peer-support groups, accessible only by an invitation received by e-mail after registration for the study. The groups were open to access 24 h a day for 13 months from their individual starting date.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Adjustment to cancer measured by the Mini-MAC scale Mood disturbance measured by POMS-SF scale

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Self-rated global health

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Danish Cancer Society

Collaborators

TrygFonden, Denmark
IMK Almene Fond

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Christoffer Johansen, MD, PhD, DrMedSci, Department of Psychosocial Cancer Research

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

April 1, 2004

Primary Completion (Actual)

December 1, 2006

Study Completion (Actual)

December 1, 2006

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

August 17, 2009

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 18, 2009

First Posted (Estimate)

August 19, 2009

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

August 19, 2009

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 18, 2009

Last Verified

August 1, 2009

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

  • PP-07024

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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