None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
This study will evaluate a tailored communication intervention, developed with people with brain cancer, for people with brain cancer and their families. Who is it for? You may be eligible for this study if you are an adult with a diagnosis of a primary brain tumour (including benign, lower-grade glioma and higher-grade glioma). Study details Participants will be randomly allocated to either the intervention or control group. The intervention group will have a combination of weekly individual and group sessions focused around communication strategies and resources, delivered by a speech pathologist. The control group will receive usual care by hospital speech pathologists, and will have the opportunity to access the tailored communication intervention once the intervention group have completed their assessments. All participants will be asked to complete questionnaires and interviews assessing their communication function and perception of the intervention over the study period. It is hoped that findings from this study will help optimise communication treatments for people with brain cancer, where communication impairments are highly prevalent.
Interventions
CanCommunicate will have two key components: component 1 will involve whole-group education sessions and component 2 will involve individual management sessions. The 3 group education sessions will explore the construct of language and communication, common language changes with brain cancer, and effective communication strategies, targeting both the needs of family/friends and the person with the brain tumour to support and optimize their communication. The final group session will focus on ski
CanCommunicate will have two key components: component 1 will involve whole-group education sessions and component 2 will involve individual management sessions. The 3 group education sessions will explore the construct of language and communication, common language changes with brain cancer, and effective communication strategies, targeting both the needs of family/friends and the person with the brain tumour to support and optimize their communication. The final group session will focus on skills generalisation within the group context and maintenance of skills in daily life. Each group session will run for approximately one hour, including information provision and discussion/questions, and will occur either face-to-face or via videoconferencing (depending on the participant’s preference). If participants elect for a face-to-face session, the session will occur at the Princess Alexandra Hospital. The 4 individual sessions will involve a detailed assessment (including case history) and individualised intervention plan by a speech pathologist, strategies, details for freely available communication apps and referrals to other healthcare services as required. The exact nature of the session will be tailored to each participant's needs; however, the basic session structure will involve rapport building (10 mins), standard speech pathology therapy tasks, communication strategies or assessment (40 mins), and recapping the session (10 mins). Each session will last for up to one hour and will occur either face-to-face or via videoconferencing (depending on the participant’s preference). If participants elect for a face-to-face session, the session will occur at the Princess Alexandra Hospital. All group and individual sessions will be delivered by a qualified speech pathologist. The sessions will be delivered sequentially once per week, with the initial 2 group sessions followed by the 4 individual sessions, and then the final group session. The total intervention duration is approximately 1 hour per week for 7 weeks. Participants will be given the option of having a support person present to assist them with the sessions if required. Adherence to the intervention will be monitored using session attendance checklists.
Sponsors
Emma Finch
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Parallel
Primary purpose
Treatment
Masking
Blinded (masking used) (Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
Aged 18 years or over, diagnosis of primary brain tumour (including benign, lower-grade glioma and higher-grade glioma) which is consistent with the clinical population seen in the multidisciplinary clinic at the recruiting hospital, post-initial cancer treatment, and able to participate in assessment and intervention sessions (with communication support as required).
Exclusion criteria
Diagnosis other than primary brain cancer (e.g., brain metastases), comorbid substance abuse or psychiatric disorder not effectively managed, or experiencing rapid deterioration in health which limits engagement in the intervention.
Outcome results
None listed