Marital Satisfaction and Sexual Health of Female Cancer Patients in Singapore (RISE)

Renewing Intimacy and Sexuality (RISE): a Pilot Program to Support Marital Intimacy and Sexual Health of Female Cancer Patients in Singapore

Disturbances in marital intimacy and sexual health is one of the most underrated and undertreated problems in cancer survivorship. A review on unmet supportive care needs of cancer patients noted one third to more than half of patients reported support for sexual disturbances as an area of unmet need during and after treatment. Patients, whose sense of femininity and body image may be at risk, such as in the case of breast and gynaecologic cancers, may be more susceptible to such intimacy and sexual disturbances. According to a recent study conducted in Singapore, 25% of gynaecologic cancer patients reported dissatisfaction with their bodies and 19% reported feeling less sexually attractive. Unfortunately, there is paucity in formal resources for couples counselling within the oncology setting in Singapore. The current study seeks to investigate a pilot program called Renewing Intimacy and Sexuality (RISE), which consists of 3 sessions with female cancer patients and their spouses, and that combine components of psychosexual education, communication training and skills building. The reach, acceptability, implementation, and preliminary effectiveness of the RISE program will be assessed based on the RE-AIM framework for program planning. The overall aim of the research project is to establish evidence-based programs for cancer survivors to enhance their quality of life.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Breast Cancer; Gynecologic Cancer
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: RISE

Detailed Description

This is a multi-site, randomized controlled, pilot intervention study. Patients seen in outpatient clinics in the Department of Gynaecologic Oncology at KKH Women and Children's Hospital (KKH) and the breast team within the Division of Medical Oncology at National Cancer Centre (NCC) will be recruited to participate. Patients who meet pre-screen criteria will be invited to complete a self-report screener of marital and sexual well-being. Those who are eligible for the study and indicate interest will be contacted to participate in the RISE program. Study participants will sign an informed consent before being given a pre-treatment assessment and being randomized using an opaque, sealed envelope system to receive either (i) the RISE program or (ii) Standard Care. Those in the Standard Care group will have the option of participating in the RISE program after their second pre-treatment assessment to ensure all participants are given the opportunity to receive the program. Randomization is stratified by cancer (i.e., gynaecologic vs breast) and occur in permuted blocks. At the end of participation in the RISE program, all participants will be given a post-treatment assessment. Spouse of the participants will be invited to participate in the study. Those who agree will complete a pre-treatment survey similar to the patient participant and attend the 3 sessions with the patient, and complete a post-treatment assessment similar to the patient's.

The RISE Intervention consists of 3 sessions which will last 2 hours each and be conducted with a clinical psychologist or medical social worker with experience with couples counseling. The intervention content include psycho-education, communication training between the couple, and exercises to foster intimacy. A therapy manual will be developed to ensure program delivery fidelity. A folder with session summaries will be provided to the participants.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 41
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Singapore
  • Singapore, Singapore, 169610
    • National Cancer Centre
  • Singapore, Singapore
    • KK Women's and Children's Hospital

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 17 years to 96 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Aged 21 years or old
2. Has a spouse/ romantic partner
3. History of stage I-III gynaecologic or breast cancer
4. At least 4 weeks post completion of active treatment (i.e., surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy)
5. Patient meets cut-off for marital distress on the Dyadic Adjustment Scale-4 (defined as overall score of ≤ 12) or sexual distress (defined as endorsing "occasionally" - "always" to the question how often patient felt distress about their sex life in the last 30 days)
6. Speak and read English

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Diagnosis of metastatic (stage IV) cancer

2. Visual, hearing, or cognitive impairment that will interfere with participation

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Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Intervention group; Group of participants receiving the RISE intervention	Behavioral: RISE; Intervention will consist of 3 sessions over 6 weeks. Each session will last 2 hours and be conducted with a clinical psychologist or medical social worker. The intervention content include psycho-education, communication training between the couple, and exercises to foster intimacy. A therapy manual will be developed to ensure program delivery fidelity. A folder with session summaries will be provided to the participants.The intervention content include psycho-education, communication training between the couple, and exercises to foster intimacy. A therapy manual will be developed to ensure program delivery fidelity. A folder with session summaries will be provided to the participants.
No Intervention: Standard Care (waitlist); Group receiving no intervention in first 6 weeks.They will have the option of participating in the RISE program after their second assessment at week 6.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Assess the reach of the RISE program	Measured by proportion of those who enrol to those who are eligible to participate.	Baseline
Determine the acceptability of the RISE program	Measured by participant rated satisfaction with the program using the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire	Week 6 for intervention arm; Week 12 for waitlist arm
Success of implementation of the program.	Measured by participant's willingness to pay for the program.	Week 6 for intervention arm; Week 12 for waitlist arm
Collect feedback to improve the RISE program	Obtained by conducting semi-structured interviews with participants at program completion.	Week 6 for intervention arm; Week 12 for waitlist arm

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Preliminary data on effectiveness of the program.	Measured by change in relationship well-being using the Dyadic Adjustment Scale-10	Change in scores from Baseline to Week 6 for intervention arm; change in scores from Baseline to Week 12 for Waitlist arm

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Irene Teo, PhD, Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Glasgow RE, McKay HG, Piette JD, Reynolds KD. The RE-AIM framework for evaluating interventions: what can it tell us about approaches to chronic illness management? Patient Educ Couns. 2001 Aug;44(2):119-27. doi: 10.1016/s0738-3991(00)00186-5.
• Teo I, Cheung YB, Lim TYK, Namuduri RP, Long V, Tewani K. The relationship between symptom prevalence, body image, and quality of life in Asian gynecologic cancer patients. Psychooncology. 2018 Jan;27(1):69-74. doi: 10.1002/pon.4457. Epub 2017 Jun 16.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): November 1, 2018
• Primary Completion (Actual): July 31, 2022
• Study Completion (Actual): January 1, 2024

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: January 16, 2018
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 1, 2018
• First Posted (Actual): February 5, 2018

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 25, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 3, 2025
• Last Verified: February 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: Duke-NUS

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No