Simulation-Based Caregiving Skills Training for Family Members of High Grade Glioma Patients

August 5, 2026 updated by: M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
Family caregivers of patients with a primary brain tumor experience a high caregiving load including assistance with activities of daily living without any formal training. It is not surprising that this vulnerable caregiver population reports high levels of distress along with numerous caregiving-related concerns, which may compromise their ability to provide quality care. This project will examine the feasibility and initial evidence for efficacy of a caregiving skills intervention aiming to improve caregiver and patient psychological health; caregiving efficacy and role adjustment; and reduce patient cancer-related symptoms and healthcare utilization.

Study Overview

Status

Active, not recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Trial 1 (single-arm study)

• Aim 1: Examine the usability of the intervention content and trial assessments in 10 caregiver-patient dyads to refine study procedures as needed.

Trial 2 (RCT)

Aim 1 (primary aim): Determine the feasibility of implementing a caregiving intervention using a randomized controlled design in 50 caregiver-HGG patient dyads.

Aim 2: Evaluate the initial evidence for intervention efficacy relative to a WLC group regarding patient and caregiver psychological symptoms (primary outcome), caregiver caregiving efficacy and role adjustment, and patient cancer-related symptoms and healthcare utilization (secondary outcomes).

Aim 3: Understand caregivers' experiences using qualitative methods regarding participation in this study and explore emerging themes as possible intervention mediators/moderators to be examined in future research.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

124

Phase

  • 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
    • Texas
      • Houston, Texas, United States, 77030
        • M D Anderson 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

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • FCGs (e.g., spouse/partner, parent, adult child) of patients diagnosed with HGG receiving any form of cancer treatment (including palliative intent) at MDACC.
  • Patients must have a Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS) of 100 to 50. If the patient's Karnofsky Performance Status drops below 50 both patient and caregiver will be removed from the study.
  • Both FCGs and patients must be willing to participate and (1) ≥18 years old and able to (2) read and speak English and (3) provide informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • FCGs who regularly participate in psychotherapy with a licensed professional (self-reported).
  • Patients with cognitive impairment that would impede ability to complete self-report surveys as documented in the medical record.
  • Children under the age of 18 will not be included in this trial. First and foremost, it is unlikely that a person under the age 18 is diagnosed with an HGG.
  • Childhood brain tumors tend to be diagnosed in infancy and the caregiving and symptom management needs are vastly different than in the adult patient population. Additionally, the assessment tools are not validated for minors.
  • While pregnant caregivers (self-reported) are study eligible, we will also exclude pregnant patients (medical notes). It is unlikely that patients diagnosed with an HGG will be pregnant. Moreover, the current caregiver intervention is not designed to address the care needs of pregnant cancer patients.

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: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Other: Baseline Assessment

Participants will be asked to complete a baseline assessment of questionnaires that will ask:

  • Demographic information (such as your age, sex, and race)
  • Psychological and physical health
Behavioral: Questionnaires
Participants will be asked to complete this assessment on your own time, and it should take about 40 minutes.
Other: Caregiver Intervention Sessions
Caregiver will take part in 4 caregiver intervention sessions. The first 2 sessions will take place in the Simulation Center at the hospital when you are scheduled for treatment or a follow-up appointment. The remaining 2 sessions will be done remotely using a videoconference platform (such as Zoom) and will focus on discussing your caregiver's role and experiences and suggesting coping and self-care strategies.
Behavioral: Caregiver Assessment
These sessions will involve simulation-based, caregiving skill training, and your caregiver will be taught skills to help support you (such as feeding, hygiene, mobility, medication administration, and care coordination).

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
M. D. Anderson Symptom Inventory (MDASI) questionnaires
Time Frame: through study completion and average of 1 year.
M. D. Anderson Symptom Inventory (MDASI) questionnaires score scale ranges ( 0-10) 0 has not been present been and 10 is bad as you can imagine.
through study completion and average of 1 year.

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

Collaborators

National Cancer Institute (NCI)

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Kathryn Milbury, MA,PHD, M.D. Anderson 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 (Actual)

October 21, 2022

Primary Completion (Estimated)

August 31, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

August 31, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

August 19, 2022

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 19, 2022

First Posted (Actual)

August 22, 2022

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

August 6, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 5, 2026

Last Verified

August 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 2022-0377
  • NCI-2022-07002 (Other Identifier: NCI-CTRP Clinical Trials Reporting Registry)
  • R21CA273782 (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

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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