Feasibility of a Real-world, Financial Psycho-oncology Intervention to Address Cancer-related Financial Distress

July 20, 2026 updated by: Courtney Williams, University of Alabama at Birmingham

The goal of this pilot, feasibility study is to evaluate the feasibility and preliminary impact of a finance-specific psycho-oncology intervention, as well as to explore perceptions of and experiences with this financial psycho-oncology intervention for patients with cancer experiencing financial hardship. The main questions it aims to answer are:

  1. Is this financial psycho-oncology intervention feasible, acceptable, and appropriate for patients with cancer experiencing financial hardship?
  2. How can we refine the financial psycho-oncology intervention to best address financial distress for patients with cancer experiencing financial hardship?

Patients enrolled in the intervention will receive 2, 60-minute long, finance-specific psycho-oncology sessions per month over the course of 3 months, for a total of 6 sessions over the course of the intervention. Patients will complete surveys during intervention enrollment and after intervention completion to assess secondary outcomes of financial hardship, psychological distress, stress, and anxiety. Individuals who consent to the financial psycho-oncology intervention will also be invited to participate in a 30-minute semi-structured interview to explore their perceptions of and experiences with the financial psycho-oncology intervention, including concepts of participation and engagement, relevance and acceptability, content and understanding, logistics and practicality, and potential impact.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

20

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

  • United States
    • Alabama
      • Birmingham, Alabama, United States, 35233
        • University of Alabama at Birmingham
        • Contact:
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Courtney Williams, DrPH

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:

  • Adult patients with cancer receiving treatment at the UAB Medical Oncology and/or UAB Supportive Care clinics

Exclusion Criteria:

  • non-English speakers
  • patients with non-melanoma skin cancers
  • patients with dementia/cognitive impairments

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: Health Services Research
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Patients receiving financial psycho-oncology intervention
Behavioral: Financial psycho-oncology intervention
Program which integrates emotional support, coping strategies, and financial psychoeducation to enhance patients' capacity to cope with both their emotional and financial burdens due to cancer.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Recruitment as a measure of feasibility
Time Frame: From enrollment to the end of the financial psycho-oncology intervention at 3 months
50% of contacted patients consenting to participate
From enrollment to the end of the financial psycho-oncology intervention at 3 months
Retention as a measure of feasibility
Time Frame: From enrollment to the end of the financial psycho-oncology intervention at 3 months
70% of consenting patients completing the program per protocol
From enrollment to the end of the financial psycho-oncology intervention at 3 months
Completion as a measure of feasibility
Time Frame: From enrollment to the end of the financial psycho-oncology intervention at 3 months
<15% missing survey data
From enrollment to the end of the financial psycho-oncology intervention at 3 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Financial hardship
Time Frame: From enrollment to the end of the financial psycho-oncology intervention at 3 months
as measured by COmprehensive Score for financial Toxicity (COST)
From enrollment to the end of the financial psycho-oncology intervention at 3 months
Change in Psychological distress
Time Frame: From enrollment to the end of the financial psycho-oncology intervention at 3 months
as measured by National Comprehensive Cancer Network Distress Thermometer and Problem List
From enrollment to the end of the financial psycho-oncology intervention at 3 months
Change in Perceived stress
Time Frame: From enrollment to the end of the financial psycho-oncology intervention at 3 months
as measured by Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10)
From enrollment to the end of the financial psycho-oncology intervention at 3 months
Change in Anxiety
Time Frame: From enrollment to the end of the financial psycho-oncology intervention at 3 months
as measured by PROMIS Emotional Distress - Anxiety - Short Form 4
From enrollment to the end of the financial psycho-oncology intervention at 3 months
Change in Depression
Time Frame: From enrollment to the end of the financial psycho-oncology intervention at 3 months
as measured by PROMIS Emotional Distress - Depression - Short Form 4
From enrollment to the end of the financial psycho-oncology intervention at 3 months

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

University of Alabama at Birmingham

Collaborators

UAB Center for Palliative and Supportive Care

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Courtney Williams, DrPH, University of Alabama at Birmingham

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 (Estimated)

September 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

May 1, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

August 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

July 16, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 20, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

July 23, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

July 23, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 20, 2026

Last Verified

July 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • PREP_Williams2026
  • UAB (Other Identifier: UAB)

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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