Supportive Care for Dual Caregivers who Care for Their Partner With Cancer and Their Young Children

Purpose. Advanced cancer patients and their spouses who parent minor children report parenting concerns and increased psychological distress. This single-arm trial examined the feasibility and initial evidence for efficacy of a novel parent support program.Methods. Patients with a metastatic solid malignancy and their spouses completed self-reported assessments of psychological distress (HADS), parenting concerns (PCQ) and efficacy (CaPSE) at baseline. Both patients and spouses jointly attended the first two sessions addressing illness communication and family routines. Spouses individually attended two additional sessions focusing on caregiver support and death preparedness. All four sessions were delivered via videoconference by a licensed psychological counselor. Dyads completed program evaluations and were reassessed six and 12 weeks postintervention.Results. With a consent rate of 61%, 10 patients (50% female; 90% non-Hispanic White; mean age = 42 years) and their spouses (50% female; 70% non-Hispanic White; mean age = 42 years) completed the assessments. All patients and 90% of spouses attended all intervention sessions and evaluated the program favorably. Paired t-tests revealed significant improvements in patients' parenting concerns at the six weeks (P = 0.003) and parenting efficacy at the six weeks (P = 0.03) and 12 weeks (P = 0.03) follow-ups. For spouses, we found significant improvements in parenting efficacy (P < 0.001) and depressive symptoms (P = 0.04) at six weeks and parenting concerns at both six weeks (P = 0.006) and 12 weeks (P = 0.001) follow-ups.Conclusions. The initial testing of our parenting intervention yielded promising results regarding feasibility and an initial signal of intervention efficacy. Thus, a randomized controlled trial for further testing is warranted. (c) 2023 American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

This study examined the feasibility and initial evidence for efficacy of a novel parent support program for advanced cancer patients and their spouses. The results showed significant improvements in patients' parenting concerns and spouses' parenting efficacy, indicating the positive effects of the program.