Easing Psychosocial Burden for Informal Caregivers

Status:	Recruiting
Conditions:	Brain Cancer
Therapuetic Areas:	Oncology
Healthy:	No
Age Range:	18 - Any
Updated:	2/13/2019
Start Date:	February 12, 2018
End Date:	August 2019
Contact:	Allison Applebaum, PhD
Email:	ApplebaA@mskcc.org
Phone:	646-888-0034

Improving Palliative Care of Caregivers of Patients With Glioblastoma

The overall goal of this study is to determine the best time to offer Meaning-Centered
Psychotherapy (MCP), an intervention that has proven to be helpful in improving spiritual
well-being and decreasing existential distress among patients with advanced cancer, to
caregivers. (MCP has also been shown to be an appropriate method of attending to the
palliative or comfort care needs of caregivers of patients with cancer. Studies show that the
psychological burden associated with caring for a patient with advanced cancer is often
greater than that experienced by the patients themselves.) The investigators would also like
to find out about caregivers initial impressions of MCP-C, Meaning-Centered Psychotherapy for
Cancer Caregivers, so that the intervention can be adjusted to meet the unique needs of
caregivers of patients with Glioblastoma.

Inclusion Criteria:

Part I Focus group GBM informal caregivers (ICs):

- English-speaking as English proficiency screener and in the best judgment of the
consenting professional. This is due to the focus groups being managed in English and
the use of certain validated questionnaires only being available in English.

- Age > 18

- IC to an MSKCC patient with GBM who died a year or more ago

Part II Randomized Intervention of GBM ICs:

- English-speaking as per English proficiency screener and in the best judgment of the
consenting professional

- Current ICs to a patient with GBM

- Age ≥ 18

- Score of > 4 on the Distress Thermometer (DT) and indication that this distress is
related in some way to the caregiving role per self-report

Exclusion Criteria:

- In the judgment of the consenting professional, clinician or PI and/or as per medical
record, severe psychopathology or cognitive impairment likely to interfere with the
participation or completion of the protocol or ability to provide meaningful
information

- Another family member of caregiver to the same patients is currently enrolled in the
study

- Ultimately, if interested, all caregivers who decline participation or are ineligible
for the study for any reason, including because another caregives of the patient is
currently enrolled in the study, will be offered referrals to the MSKCC Counseling
Center and to local mental health providers

We found this trial at

sites

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

1275 York Ave
New York, New York 10021

(212) 639-2000