Cancer, Neoplasms
Conditions
Brief summary
This study examines the feasibility, cultural-sensitivity, and health effects of the expressive helping intervention by conducting a single-arm trial with Chinese-speaking cancer patients and survivors.
Detailed description
This study examines whether expressive helping is feasible and culturally-sensitive for Chinese American cancer patients and survivors. For 20 minutes each week over four weeks, participants choose to write or voice-record their thoughts about cancer by following specific prompts designed to help them process their cancer experiences. During the last week of this reflection exercise, participants write or voice-record an anonymous letter to another Chinese cancer patient by sharing their cancer experience and providing advice and encouragement. Health outcomes are assessed at baseline, 1-month, and 3-month follow-ups. A subset of the participants will be invited to share their experiences with the study through qualitative interviews after the last writing/voice-recording session. This research study provides an opportunity for Chinese American cancer patients and survivors to express their feelings without the fear of burdening others, and give them an opportunity to help others by sharing their cancer experiences.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALExpressive Helping
Expressive helping harnesses the benefits of helping others (e.g., support giving) through writing or voice-recording. Expressive helping integrates two distinct areas of research showing that writing or speaking about ones' negative experiences and engaging in support giving behaviors can improve psychological well-being.
Sponsors
New York University
Study design
Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* Diagnosis of cancer (any type) * Of Chinese descent * Over the age of 18 * Can speaking and read Mandarin Chinese
Exclusion criteria
* Completed primary cancer treatment more than five years ago
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Number of participants screened | through study completion, an average of 1 year | The number of participants screened for eligibility will be counted. |
| Compliance rate | through study completion, an average of 1 year | Compliance rate is calculated by dividing the number of writing/voice-recording sessions finished by the number of sessions assigned. |
| Retention rate | through study completion, an average of 1 year | Retention rate is calculated by dividing the number of participants who began the study by the number of participants who finished the entire study. |
| Meaningfulness of the study | This will be assessed approximately four weeks after the baseline | We will ask participants open-ended questions about whether they felt participating in this study was meaningful to them. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in quality of life as assessed by the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy Scale (FACT). | Baseline; 1-month follow-up; 3-month follow-up | The Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy Scale (FACT) is a 27-item measure of health-related quality of life (Cella & Tulsky,1993). This scale assesses contains four different subscales, including physical well-being (7 items), social well-being (7 items), emotional well-being (6 items), and functional well-being (7 items). |
| Change in depressive symptoms as assessed by the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). | Baseline; 1-month follow-up; 3-month follow-up | The CES-D (Radloff, 1977) is a 20-item measure of depressive symptoms. |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed