Cancer
Conditions
Brief summary
The Chinese American Cancer Survivors Writing Study is a Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) testing the feasibility and efficacy of the Expressive Helping (EH) intervention among Chinese American cancer survivors.
Detailed description
Chinese Americans are one of the fastest growing immigrant groups in the United States, but there is still a lack of culturally-sensitive and linguistically-appropriate resources and interventions for this group. To address this gap, the investigators will examine the efficacy and feasibility of Expressive Helping, a writing intervention designed to lead participants to write about their cancer experiences. Participants will be adult cancer survivors of Chinese descent. After screening and consent, eligible participants will be enrolled in a 1:1:1 randomized controlled trial. Assessments of psychological symptoms will occur at baseline (prior to randomization), 1-month post-intervention, 3-months post-intervention, and 6-months post-intervention.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALExpressive Helping
Expressive helping involves a combination of emotional disclosure and peer support writing completed over four weeks.
BEHAVIORALExpressive Writing
Expressive writing involves emotional disclosure writing over four weeks.
BEHAVIORALFactual Writing
Factual writing involves writing facts about cancer treatment and experiences over four weeks.
Sponsors
New York University
National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD)
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
SINGLE (Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 80 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* Over 18 years old. * Prefer speaking in Mandarin Chinese or Cantonese, and able to read and write Simplified or Traditional Chinese. * Within 5 years after completing primary treatment or have completed primary treatment but still on medication for managing cancer-related symptoms.
Exclusion criteria
* Difficulties with writing * Current active participation in support groups (i.e., attending more than once per week)
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Recruitment rates | through study completion, an average of 6 months | The number of participants screened for eligibility, percent eligible to participate, and percent of people who refuse to participate will be tracked. |
| Retention rates | through study completion, an average of 6 months | Percent of participants who complete each stage of the study (e.g., baseline survey, writing sessions, follow-ups) will be tracked. |
| Completion rate of writing sessions | through study completion, an average of 6 months | Assessed by dividing the number of writing sessions finished by the number of sessions assigned. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Changes in depressive symptoms assessed by the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale | Baseline to 1-month follow-up, 3-month follow-up, and 6-month follow-up | Depressive symptoms will be measured with the 10-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). The score can range from 0-30 and higher scores indicate more depressive symptoms. |
| Changes in anxiety symptoms assessed by the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Screener | Baseline to 1-month follow-up, 3-month follow-up, and 6-month follow-up | Anxiety symptoms will be measured with the 7-item GAD-7 scale (Spitzer et al., 2006). This scale measures generalized anxiety symptoms in the past 7 days, has score ranges from 0-21 with higher scores indicating greater anxiety symptoms. |
| Changes in health-related quality of life assessed by the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy: General (FACT-G). | Baseline to 1-month follow-up, 3-month follow-up, and 6-month follow-up | Health-related quality of life will be measured by the 27-item FACT-G, which assess four domains: physical well-being, social well-being, emotional well-being and functional well-being. The score ranges from 0-108 with higher scores indicating better quality of life. |
| Changes in perceived stress assessed by the Perceived Stress Scale. | Baseline to 1-month follow-up, 3-month follow-up, and 6-month follow-up | Perceived stress is measured by the 10-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). The score ranges from 0-40 with higher scores indicating higher perceived stress. |
| Changes in cancer-related fatigue assessed by the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy - Fatigue | Baseline to 1-month follow-up, 3-month follow-up, and 6-month follow-up | Cancer-related fatigue is measured by the 13-item Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy - Fatigue (FACIT). The score ranges from 0-52 with higher scores indicating greater fatigue. |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed