Cancer Leadership Training for Clergy Wives and Widows

Cancer Survivorship and Caregiver Leadership Education for Clergy Wives and Widows

Multiple cancer health disparities exist for underrepresented minority groups, such as higher late stage diagnoses and greater cancer-related deaths. Among African Americans, there is an increased cancer survivorship and caregiving burden, which necessitates more support and resources during these phases. The African American church has been evidenced to be a trusted source of resource and provide culturally competent care and contribute to decreasing these disparities. Importantly, the leadership of the African American churches are pivotal to the health and wellness of this population. One important leader is the clergy wife or widow, who is understudied but vital to the function of the church function and activities. The long-term goal of this proposed study is to develop a leadership training program for clergy wives and widows with emphasis on cancer survivorship and caregiving. The objective of this pilot project is to develop and test the Cancer Survivorship and Caregiver Leadership Education for Clergy Wives and Widows, with specific emphasis of cultural and spiritual considerations of African American cancer survivors and caregivers. The rationale for this project, is that African American clergy wives and widows can receive the necessary training to assist cancer survivors and caregivers in the management of physical, emotional, psychosocial, spiritual, and financial challenges. This study will be accomplished in four aims, which are 1) Develop skills and knowledge to perform an in-depth culturally sensitive need assessment and intervention map tailored for aging African American cancer survivors and caregivers, 2) To increase cancer survivorship and caregiving leadership education and activities for African American Clergy Wives and Widows, and 3) Enhance awareness of cancer-related health issues and its relationship to key determinants among aging cancer survivors and caregivers. This project is innovative in establishing a culturally and spiritually tailored intervention to develop the training of Clergy Wives and Widows to provide appropriate education for community dwelling African American survivors and caregivers. This research is significant because of its potential to inform cancer and caregiving related research and evidence-based practice for both health care professionals and community organizations and institutions to improve long term-health outcomes.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Cancer; Patient Empowerment
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Cancer Survivorship Leadership Training for Clergy Wives and Widows

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 37
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • California
    • Los Angeles, California, United States, 90059
      • Charles R. Drew University of Medicine & Science

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Identify as either a clergy wife or widow
• Identify as African American and/or Black
• Live within the boundaries of Los Angeles County
• Be at least 18 years of age
• Speak and/or read English

Exclusion Criteria:

• Does not identify as a clergy wife or widow
• Does not self-identify as African American and/or Black
• Lives outside the boundaries of Los Angeles County
• Under the age of 18
• Unable to speak and/or read English

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Intervention / Treatment

Experimental: Clergy Wives and Widows; We will provide cancer survivorship and caregiving leadership education and activities for African American Clergy Wives and Widows by creating an educational partnership program aimed towards church-based health education on cancer survivorship and caregiving

Behavioral: Cancer Survivorship Leadership Training for Clergy Wives and Widows; We will meet with Clergy Wives and Widows monthly for 2-3 hours over 10 months. These sessions will be delivered using innovative online format through Zoom over the ten months. During each meeting session, experienced community and academic leaders will present their expertise with relationship to cancer survivorship and caregiving. These individuals will have extensive experience in the particular area they are presenting in. In addition, allotted time will be given for discussion and group activities that can be performed virtually. To receive credit for completion of the training program, each participant must complete the training and deliver a group workshop. All clergy wives and widows will complete a demographic questionnaire, in addition to pre- and post- intervention questionnaires

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Percentage of Participants Achieving Target Levels in Cancer Knowledge Using the Cancer Awareness Measurement Survey	By comparison from baseline to post-intervention, there will be a 30% increase in the cancer awareness, risk factors, and screening among study participants.	10 months
Percentage of Participants Achieving Improvement in Mental Status and Wellness Using Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Survey	By comparison from baseline to post-intervention, there will be a 30% increase in the awareness of depression, anxiety and stress among study participants.	10 months
Percentage of Participants Achieving Decreased Perceived Stigma Levels Using Cancer Stigma Scale	By comparison from baseline to post-intervention, there will be a 30% decrease in cancer stigma among study participants.	10 months
Percentage of Participants Achieving Decreased Perceived Stress Using Caregiver Self-Assessment Questionnaire	By comparison from baseline to post-intervention, there will be a 30% decrease in perceived stress regarding cancer caregiving among study participants.	10 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science
• Collaborators: National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD)
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Sharon Cobb, PhD, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine & Science

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): November 10, 2020
• Primary Completion (Actual): October 1, 2022
• Study Completion (Actual): October 10, 2022

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: August 31, 2020
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 3, 2020
• First Posted (Actual): September 10, 2020

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 15, 2024
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 12, 2024
• Last Verified: March 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: cancer; African American; leadership; clergy; church
• Other Study ID Numbers: 1530494-1; 5U54MD007598-15 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No