Improving psychosocial outcomes for caregivers of people with poor prognosis gastrointestinal cancers: a randomized controlled trial (Family Connect)

Joanne M Shaw¹, Jane M Young^{2

3}, Phyllis N Butow^{4

3}, Tim Badgery-Parker^{2

3}, Ivana Durcinoska^{2

3}, James D Harrison⁵, Patricia M Davidson⁶, David Martin^{7

8}, Charbel Sandroussi^{9

3

7}, Michael Hollands¹⁰, David Joseph^{7

8}, Amitabha Das¹¹, Vincent Lam^{9

10}, Emma Johnston^{9

10}, Michael J Solomon^{9

3

7}

Affiliations

¹ Psycho-oncology Co-operative Research Group, School of Psychology, The University of Sydney, Level 6 Chris O'Brien Lifehouse, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia. joanne.shaw@sydney.edu.au.
² School of Public Health,, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia.
³ Surgical Outcomes Research Centre, Sydney Local Health District, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
⁴ Psycho-oncology Co-operative Research Group, School of Psychology, The University of Sydney, Level 6 Chris O'Brien Lifehouse, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia.
⁵ University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.
⁶ University of Technology, Sydney, Australia.
⁷ Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney Local Health District, Camperdown, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
⁸ Concord Repatriation General Hospital, Sydney Local Health District, Concord, NSW, Australia.
⁹ Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia.
¹⁰ Westmead Hospital, Western Sydney Local Health District, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
¹¹ Bankstown-Lidcome Hospital, South Western Sydney Local Health District, Bankstown, NSW, Australia.

PMID: 26111955
DOI: 10.1007/s00520-015-2817-3

Randomized Controlled Trial

Improving psychosocial outcomes for caregivers of people with poor prognosis gastrointestinal cancers: a randomized controlled trial (Family Connect)

Joanne M Shaw et al. Support Care Cancer. 2016 Feb.

. 2016 Feb;24(2):585-595.

doi: 10.1007/s00520-015-2817-3. Epub 2015 Jun 26.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Psycho-oncology Co-operative Research Group, School of Psychology, The University of Sydney, Level 6 Chris O'Brien Lifehouse, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia. joanne.shaw@sydney.edu.au.
² School of Public Health,, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia.
³ Surgical Outcomes Research Centre, Sydney Local Health District, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
⁴ Psycho-oncology Co-operative Research Group, School of Psychology, The University of Sydney, Level 6 Chris O'Brien Lifehouse, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia.
⁵ University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.
⁶ University of Technology, Sydney, Australia.
⁷ Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney Local Health District, Camperdown, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
⁸ Concord Repatriation General Hospital, Sydney Local Health District, Concord, NSW, Australia.
⁹ Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia.
¹⁰ Westmead Hospital, Western Sydney Local Health District, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
¹¹ Bankstown-Lidcome Hospital, South Western Sydney Local Health District, Bankstown, NSW, Australia.

PMID: 26111955
DOI: 10.1007/s00520-015-2817-3

Abstract

Purpose: This study investigated the effectiveness of a structured telephone intervention for caregivers of people diagnosed with poor prognosis gastrointestinal cancer to improve psychosocial outcomes for both caregivers and patients.

Methods: Caregivers of patients starting treatment for upper gastrointestinal or Dukes D colorectal cancer were randomly assigned (1:1) to the Family Connect telephone intervention or usual care. Caregivers in the intervention group received four standardized telephone calls in the 10 weeks following patient hospital discharge. Caregivers' quality of life (QOL), caregiver burden, unmet supportive care needs and distress were assessed at 3 and 6 months. Patients' QOL, unmet supportive care needs, distress and health service utilization were also assessed at these time points.

Results: Caregivers (128) were randomized to intervention or usual care groups. At 3 months, caregiver QOL scores and other caregiver-reported outcomes were similar in both groups. Intervention group participants experienced a greater sense of social support (p = .049) and reduced worry about finances (p = .014). Patients whose caregiver was randomized to the intervention also had fewer emergency department presentations and unplanned hospital readmissions at 3 months post-discharge (total 17 vs. 5, p = .01).

Conclusions: This standardized intervention did not demonstrate any significant improvements in caregiver well-being but did result in a decrease in patient emergency department presentations and unplanned hospital readmissions in the immediate post-discharge period. The trend towards improvements in a number of caregiver outcomes and the improvement in health service utilization support further development of telephone-based caregiver-focused supportive care interventions.

Keywords: Caregivers; Gastrointestinal cancer; Quality of life; Randomized controlled trial.

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References

1. Cancer. 1991 Sep 1;68(5):1131-40 - PubMed
1. CA Cancer J Clin. 2001 Jul-Aug;51(4):213-31 - PubMed
1. Psychooncology. 1998 Jan-Feb;7(1):3-13 - PubMed
1. Palliat Med. 2010 Jul;24(5):473-9 - PubMed
1. Soc Sci Med. 2002 Feb;54(4):529-44 - PubMed

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Improving psychosocial outcomes for caregivers of people with poor prognosis gastrointestinal cancers: a randomized controlled trial (Family Connect)

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Improving psychosocial outcomes for caregivers of people with poor prognosis gastrointestinal cancers: a randomized controlled trial (Family Connect)

Authors

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Abstract

References

Publication types

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LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources

Medical