None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
This pilot randomised controlled trial (RCT) will test a novel telephone-based intervention for carers of patients with advanced gastrointestinal cancer. The intervention involves five structured calls from a nurse to the carer over 10 weeks, aiming to improve psychosocial outcomes for carers. This pilot study aims to assess the feasibilty and acceptability of the intervention and determine any impact on carer outcomes. If the results are positive, this telephone intervention will be evaluated in a multi-centre randomised controlled trial (RCT) and could be implemented broadly in both metropolitan and rural areas, and could be adapted for other groups of carers.
Interventions
A structured telephone intervention delivered by a cancer nurse. The primary carers of people diagnosed with poor prognosis gastrointestinal cancer (colorectal Duke's stage D, oesophagus, stomach, pancreas, gall bladder, bile duct or small bowel) will be asked to complete a baseline questionnaire. Carers will then be randomised into the intervention or control group. Carers in the intervention group will receive five telephone calls from the cancer nurse in the 10 weeks following the patient that they are carer for is discharged from hospital (the first call is at Day 3 post-discharge and then the remaining four will be fortnightly ie Day 17, 31, 45 and 59). Calls will vary in duration and be dependent on each individual carer's need. It is anticipated that calls will last about 20 minutes.
Sponsors
A/Prof Jane Young
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Parallel
Primary purpose
Educational / counselling / training
Masking
Blinded (masking used)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
Carers must be the *principal informal carer of a patient who has had a surgical procedure for poor prognosis gastrointestinal cancer (colorectal Duke's stage D, oesophagus, stomach, pancreas, gall bladder, bile duct or small bowel). Carers must *have access to a telephone, *have sufficient English skills to participate, *are able to understand the study and give informed consent.
Exclusion criteria
Carers without *access to a telephone or unable to use a telephone (eg due to deafness), *are cognitively impaired, *do not speak and read English to a level that would allow them to participate or *do not plan to reside in Australia for the next three months will be excluded from the study
Outcome results
None listed