Testing an e-Health Intervention for Prostate Cancer Survivors' Mental and Sexual Health

February 28, 2024 updated by: Ana Luísa de Matos Dias Quinta Gomes, Universidade do Porto

A Digital Intervention Program to Promote Mental and Sexual Health of Prostate Cancer Survivors

This study aims to assess the acceptability, feasibility, and preliminary efficacy of an e-Health psychological intervention specifically designed to promote sexual health, mental health, and general well-being and quality of life in men with prostate cancer. A pilot study will be conducted involving prostate cancer survivors randomly assigned to one of two conditions: the experimental group (receiving the program) vs the control condition (waiting list). The experimental group is expected to improve on outcomes related to mental and sexual well-being when compared to the control group. Furthermore, the experimental group is expected to show good acceptability of the intervention program. This study aims to inform the design and methodology to be adopted in a future randomized controlled trial aimed to further test the e-Health intervention's efficacy.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

This study was approved by the Ethical Board of São João Hospital, Porto. An online psychological intervention (e-Health app technology) specifically tailored to meet the needs of Portuguese men with prostate cancer was developed to promote participants' mental and sexual health. The intervention protocol was designed under Cognitive-Behavior Therapy (CBT) principles, featuring psychological and sexual health promotion strategies. The intervention program consists of 5 modules covering components of psychoeducation, sexual rehabilitation, mindfulness, cognitive restructuring, and relapse prevention. The modules will be delivered online (using text, videos, and graphics) along with therapeutic guidance and support provided by a certified Clinical Psychologist over six weeks.

Participants will be recruited at cancer units and will meet the inclusion criteria: prostate cancer survivors; 18 years old or older; ability to give informed consent; regular use of a smartphone and internet access; no other oncological diagnoses over the past five years, no severe neurological or psychological disorders. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of two conditions: 1) e-Health psychological intervention (N = 20); 2) waiting list group, N = 20). Participants will be clinically assessed before and after intervention on different psychosexual dimensions (e.g., mental health, quality of life, sexual dysfunction). By the end of the study, the waiting list group participants will be allowed to access the e-Health psychological intervention. The experimental group is expected to improve regarding mental and sexual well-being outcomes compared to the control group. Furthermore, the experimental group is expected to show the program's acceptability. This study aims to inform a future a randomized control trial that aims to further test the e-Health intervention's efficacy. Pre, post-test, and 3-month follow-up assessments will be performed.

Main outcomes: psychological distress, sexual distress, sexual satisfaction, relational satisfaction, sexual dysfunctional beliefs, and quality of life. All scales are validated and adapted to the Portuguese population. Furthermore, a semi-structured interview will be conducted with experimental group participants by the end of the study to collect user feedback.

Participants' data will be stored in an encrypted file, saved on a computer, and only accessible to the main researchers of this study. Confidentiality will be guaranteed by attributing an individual code to each participant. This code will be used to log into the digital intervention and complete psychometric scales. Interviews will be recorded and transcribed. Transcriptions will be marked with the same code to ensure the association of the collected data.

Statistical procedures will be performed using IBM SPSS and include i) descriptive analyses; ii) MANOVA to measure differences among groups and to compare assessment moments; iii) thematic analysis to understand the user's experience (post-intervention interview)

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

30

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 Contact

Study Locations

  • Portugal
      • Porto, Portugal, 4200-135
        • Recruiting
        • Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences
        • Contact:

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

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Prostate cancer survivors,
  • 18 years old or older,
  • Ability to give informed consent,
  • Regular use of a smartphone and internet access.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Other diagnosed oncological diseases over the past five years,
  • Severe neurological impairment or other severe psychological/psychiatric diseases (depression, generalized anxiety disorder, psychosis-related disorders),
  • Other uncontrolled/unstable diseases,
  • Severe hearing and/or visual impairment,
  • Under psychotherapy or treatment for sexual problems,
  • Participating concurrently in other clinical trials.

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: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: testing the digital intervention
Prostate cancer survivors (n=20) randomly assigned to this arm will complete a digital psychosexual intervention and will be accompanied weekly by a certified clinical psychologist to monitor progress (synchronous or asynchronous). Pre and Post testing involve questionnaires collecting data on psychosexual variables. At post-testing a 30-minute interview will be conducted to collect information on the usability
Behavioral: e-Health intervention to promote mental and sexual health of prostate cancer survivors
An online psychological intervention (e-Health app technology) specifically tailored to meet the needs of Portuguese men with prostate cancer was developed to promote participants' mental and sexual health. The intervention protocol was designed under the principles of Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT), featuring psychological and sexual health promotion strategies. The intervention program consists of 5 modules covering components of psychoeducation, sexual rehabilitation, mindfulness, cognitive restructuring and relapse prevention. The modules will be delivered online (using text, videos, and graphics) along with therapeutic guidance and support provided by a certified Clinical Psychologist, over a 6-week period.
No Intervention: waiting list
Prostate cancer survivors (n=20) randomly assigned to this arm will not be accompanied or get access to the intervention during the six week period in which the experimental group is completing the intervention. Pre and Post testing involved questionnaires collecting data on psychosexual variables. After post testing the control arm will gain access to the intervention as compensation for their participation

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Brief Symptom Inventory
Time Frame: Change from baseline psychological distress at final program (6 weeks)
Questionnaire to assess psychological distress
Change from baseline psychological distress at final program (6 weeks)
Sexual Distress Scale
Time Frame: Change from baseline sexual distress at final program (6 weeks)
Questionnaire to assess sexual distress
Change from baseline sexual distress at final program (6 weeks)
WHOQoL-BREF
Time Frame: Change from baseline quality of life at final program (6 weeks)
Questionnaire to assess quality of life
Change from baseline quality of life at final program (6 weeks)
Global Measure of Sexual Satisfaction
Time Frame: Change from baseline sexual satisfaction at final program (6 weeks)
Questionnaire to assess sexual satisfaction
Change from baseline sexual satisfaction at final program (6 weeks)
Global Measure of Relationship Satisfaction
Time Frame: Change from baseline relationship satisfaction at final program (6 weeks)
Questionnaire to assess relationship satisfaction
Change from baseline relationship satisfaction at final program (6 weeks)
System Usability Scale
Time Frame: Post assessment - through study completation, (6 weeks)
Questionnaire to assess acceptability and usability
Post assessment - through study completation, (6 weeks)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
International Index of Erectile Function
Time Frame: Change from baseline sexual function at final program (6 weeks)
Questionnaire to assess sexual function
Change from baseline sexual function at final program (6 weeks)
Dysfunctional Sexual Beliefs Questionnaire
Time Frame: Change from baseline dysfunctional sexual beliefs at final program (6 weeks)
Questionnaire to assess dysfunctional sexual beliefs
Change from baseline dysfunctional sexual beliefs at final program (6 weeks)

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Universidade do Porto

Collaborators

Horizon 2020 - European Commission

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)

June 20, 2023

Primary Completion (Estimated)

July 30, 2024

Study Completion (Estimated)

August 1, 2024

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

June 23, 2023

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 13, 2023

First Posted (Actual)

July 14, 2023

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

February 29, 2024

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 28, 2024

Last Verified

February 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000057

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

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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