Skip to content

A Web-based Program to Help Caregivers of Lung Patients Learn About Available Supportive Care Resources

Multi-Site Community Oncology Planning for the CONNECT Intervention Targeting Lung Cancer Caregivers

Status
Active, not recruiting
Phases
Unknown
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT06383988
Acronym
CONNECT
Enrollment
216
Registered
2024-04-25
Start date
2024-11-11
Completion date
2026-09-30
Last updated
2026-08-26

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Stage III Lung Cancer, Stage II Lung Cancer, Stage IV Lung Cancer

Brief summary

Clinical trial that tests the feasibility of a web based caregiver support resource, along with caregiver navigation sessions for caregivers of patients with stage II-IV lung cancer. The Caregiver Oncology Needs Evaluation Tool (CONNECT) is a novel web-based intervention designed for the community oncology setting, to systematically connect lung cancer caregivers with tailored supportive care resources. Lung cancer caregivers provide critical and challenging care for their loved ones and are at risk for their own negative psychosocial and physical outcomes. Implementing the CONNECT program along with caregiver navigation may provide additional support to caregivers of patients with stage II-IV lung cancer.

Detailed description

This study is a multi-site randomized pilot trial enrolling 120 lung cancer caregiver-patient dyads (i.e., lung cancer caregivers (n=120) and their care-recipients (n=120)) across approximately 8-12 practices to assess the multi-site feasibility of a caregiver technology-based intervention (CONNECT) to identify caregivers' needs and connect them with supportive care resources. Caregivers will be randomized 1:1:1 to either the CONNECT intervention, usual care comparison group or generic resource list comparison group. CONNECT is a web-based intervention that empowers and educates caregivers about the benefits of supportive care services and systematically identifies unmet needs to connect lung cancer caregivers with tailored supportive care resources. The Central Caregiver Navigator will assist caregivers with resolving barriers to accessing resources and work with the Local Practice Referral Coordinator to process referrals. Caregivers and patients will complete measures at baseline (prior to caregiver randomization), and 12 and 24 weeks after baseline. Feasibility measures (retention, accrual rates, and participation) will be evaluated to inform the future trial. The Local Practice Referral Coordinator for each practice will report on time needed for practice participation, referral processes, and communication processes with the Central Caregiver Navigator. Participants (i.e., patients or care-recipients) will be asked to complete study surveys at three time points: * After consenting and before randomization of participant and caregiver. (Initial survey) * Approximately 12 weeks after completing the first survey (12-week survey) * Approximately 24 weeks after completing the first survey (24-week survey) Each survey will take about 30-45 minutes to complete. The forms will ask about things such as demographics (sex, race, etc.), cancer symptoms, satisfaction with cancer care and health behaviors. You don't have to answer any question that makes you feel uncomfortable. These surveys can be done remotely over the internet, in the clinic, by phone or by mail. Caregivers will also complete surveys at three time points and will be assigned to 1 of 3 study groups: * Group 1 will be given the usual care provided at your clinic. At the completion of the study, this group will be given the generic supportive care resource list for their use that Group 2 received. * Group 2 will be provided with a generic supportive care resource list. * Group 3 will be asked to watch a brief video and complete the web-based CONNECT program either in the clinic or on your own device. The CONNECT program is designed to help identify any unmet needs and connect the caregiver with tailored supportive care resources, based on specific needs. The CONNECT Navigator will follow-up with within 2 business days of completion of the program and again 4 weeks later. Caregiver Participants (Group 1, 2 and 3) will be asked to complete study surveys at three time points: * After consenting and before randomization of participant and caregiver. (Initial survey) * Approximately 12 weeks after completing the first survey (12-week survey) * Approximately 24 weeks after completing the first survey (24-week survey) Each survey will take about 35-45 minutes to complete. The forms will ask about things such as demographics (sex, race, etc.), caregiving experience, use of supportive care resources, quality of life, mood, and social needs (housing, transportation, utilities, etc). You don't have to answer any question that makes you feel uncomfortable.

Interventions

OTHERSupport for Caregiver - Generic List

Receive a generic resource list

OTHERSupport for Caregiver - Personalized List

Receive personalized resource list

OTHERInternet-Based Intervention - CONNECT

Receive access to CONNECT tool

BEHAVIORALPatient Navigation

Complete calls with caregiver navigator

Sponsors

Wake Forest University Health Sciences
Lead SponsorOTHER
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
CollaboratorNIH

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

Patient Inclusion Criteria: * Must be ≥ 18 years of age, as this study is focused on the experience of adult patient-caregiver dyads * Must have a current diagnosis of new (i.e., initial diagnosis) or recurrent stage II-IV lung cancer * Must be enrolled after the start of anticancer systemic therapy (+/- radiation therapy) with at least 9 weeks of any planned anticancer treatment remaining * Must be ambulatory and up (i.e., not bedridden) more than 50% of waking hours * Must self-report receiving informal (i.e., not professional) care from a caregiver who meets the study caregiver criteria and who is willing to participate Caregiver Inclusion Criteria: * Must be ≥18 years of age, as this study is focused on the experience of adult patient-caregiver dyads * Must self-report providing informal (i.e. not professional) care during cancer treatment for a patient who meets the patient criteria and who is willing to participate * Must have access to the internet at home or be willing to use CONNECT in the clinic * Must have access to telephone to complete sessions with the central caregiver navigator Patient

Exclusion criteria

* Patients who have completed treatment for their lung cancer at the time of study enrollment * Enrolled in hospice care * Unable to read and English and not willing to have someone read surveys for them Caregiver

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Caregiver retention at 12 weeksAt 12 weeksCalculated as the following: Number of caregivers who complete at least 75% of the 12-week assessments divided by the number randomized. Retention will be estimated and reported along with an exact 95% confidence interval.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Average time (minutes) spent by the Central Caregiver Navigator and Local Practice Referral Coordinators with each caregiver in the CONNECT armUp to completion of practice intervention activities, an average of 18 monthsWill be summarized across practices using mean, median, standard deviation and interquartile range.
Modality of contact (e.g. phone, virtual web meeting, email) made by the Central Caregiver Navigator and Local Practice Referral Coordinators with each caregiver in the CONNECT armUp to completion of practice intervention activities, an average of 18 monthsWill be summarized using appropriate descriptive statistics.
Number of contacts made by the Central Caregiver Navigator and Local Practice Referral Coordinators with each caregiver in the CONNECT armUp to completion of practice intervention activities, an average of 18 monthsWill be summarized across practices using mean, median, standard deviation and interquartile range.
Number of referrals facilitated by the Local Practice Referral Coordinator and Central Caregiver NavigatorUp to completion of practice intervention activities, an average of 18 monthsWill be summarized across practices using mean, median, standard deviation and interquartile range.
Type of referrals (e.g., in person, online) facilitated by the Local Practice Referral Coordinator and Central Caregiver NavigatorUp to completion of practice intervention activities, an average of 18 monthsWill be summarized using appropriate descriptive statistics.
Average time (minutes) needed to communicate for Central Caregiver Navigator and Local Practice Referral CoordinatorUp to completion of practice intervention activities, an average of 18 monthsWill be summarized across practices using mean, median, standard deviation and interquartile range.
Modalities used for communication (e.g., phone, virtual web meeting, email) for Central Caregiver Navigator and Local Practice Referral CoordinatorUp to completion of practice intervention activities, an average of 18 monthsWill be summarized using appropriate descriptive statistics.
Improvements for the future trial from Local Practice Referral Coordinator's perspectives from a survey at the end of the studyAt completion of practice intervention activities, an average of 18 monthsWill be summarized using appropriate descriptive statistics.
Average time (minutes) needed for training for Local Practice Referral CoordinatorAt completion of training, up to 6 monthsWill be summarized across practices using mean, median, standard deviation and interquartile range.
Desired modality for training (e.g., live webinar, recorded video, paper materials) for Local Practice Referral CoordinatorAt completion of training, up to 6 monthsWill be summarized using appropriate descriptive statistics.
Average time (minutes) needed to identify and enter local resources into the Caregiver Oncology Needs Evaluation Tool (CONNECT) databaseAt conclusion of practice intervention activities, an average of 18 monthsWill be summarized across practices using mean, median, standard deviation and interquartile range.
Caregiver accrual rateUpon completion of recruitment, approximately 12 monthsNumber of caregivers who agree to participate divided by the number of months of recruitment
Caregiver participationUpon completion of recruitment, approximately 12 monthsProportion of eligible caregivers who agreed to participate
Caregiver retention at 24 weeksAt 24 weeksNumber of caregivers who complete at least 75% of the 24-week assessments divided by the number randomized.
Frequency of needed resource updates in the CONNECT databaseUp to completion of practice intervention activities, an average of 18 monthsWill be summarized across practices using mean, median, standard deviation and interquartile range
Caregiver acceptabilityAt 12 weeksSelf-report survey developed for this study to assess the degree to which caregivers found different aspects of CONNECT, the generic resource list, or usual care helpful using a Likert response from 0 (Not at all) to 5 (Very Much)

Countries

United States

Contacts

STUDY_CHAIRKathryn Weaver, PhD

Wake Forest University Health Sciences

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Aug 27, 2026