Communication Training for Family Caregiving

Age: Any Age

Sex: Any

Trial Phase: Academic

Sponsor: Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Disqualifiers: Cognitive impairment, Under 12, Non-English, others

No Placebo Group All trial participants will receive the active study treatment (no placebo)

Compensation: Varies

Number of Visits: Unknown

80 Participants Needed

Trial Summary

Will I have to stop taking my current medications?

The trial does not specify whether participants need to stop taking their current medications.

How does the Communication Training for Family Caregiving treatment differ from other treatments for caregiving support?

The Communication Training for Family Caregiving is unique because it focuses on improving communication skills among family caregivers, which is not typically addressed by standard medical treatments. This approach aims to enhance the caregiving experience by fostering better understanding and cooperation between caregivers and those they care for, rather than focusing on medical or physical interventions. ^{1 2 3 4 5}

What is the purpose of this trial?

The purpose of this study is to provide a communication training program to inpatient nurses and social workers at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in order to help them assist caregiving families. The importance of this training program is that it aims to teach nurses and social workers how and when to respond more effectively and compassionately to challenges faced by caregiving families. One of the goals of this program is to address family support needs during a patient's hospitalization.

Research Team

Talia Zaider, PhD

Principal Investigator

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Eligibility Criteria

This trial is for nurses and social workers at MSKCC who can attend most training sessions. They'll work with families of inpatient cancer patients, including a designated family friend involved in care. Excluded are those under 12, non-English speakers, or anyone with severe cognitive impairment.

Inclusion Criteria

Family members were identified as a close other (including a family friend) involved in the care of an admitted patient on a participating provider's floor

Patient has been admitted to an inpatient service at MSKCC

I plan to attend most of the training and consolidation sessions.

Exclusion Criteria

I am, or have a family member, younger than 12 years old.

Determined to not be appropriate for this study as per clinical judgment

Evidence of cognitive impairment severe enough to preclude completing survey instruments as per clinical or research staff judgment or EMR

Timeline

Screening

Participants are screened for eligibility to participate in the trial

2-4 weeks

Training

Inpatient nurses and social workers receive communication training to assist caregiving families

2 years

Follow-up

Participants are monitored for changes in skills and confidence in conducting family-centered consultations

2 years

Treatment Details

Interventions

• questionnaires
• Working with the Caregiving Family (WCF) training

Trial Overview The study tests a communication training program called Working with the Caregiving Family (WCF). It aims to improve how healthcare providers support and interact with families of hospitalized cancer patients through didactic and consolidation sessions.

Participant Groups

Group I: Working with the Caregiving Family (WCF) training Experimental Treatment 2 Interventions

This is a new training curriculum for inpatient oncology providers called Working with the Caregiving Family (WCF) training, a program designed to teach MSKCC inpatient staff to address family-level concerns during acute hospitalization. The WCF training will teach staff to recognize and inquire about areas of family distress that are likely to impact the caregiving process; to provide brief, supportive interventions, and/or to transition families to specialized support services when needed. We will provide staff with skills to address especially challenging family situations (e.g., noncompliance with medical care, conflict, poor communication) in collaborative and compassionate ways. We will teach clinicians to intervene and respond more effectively when problematic relationships develop within families or between families and larger systems (e.g., medical team, institutional programs).

Who Is Running the Clinical Trial?

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Lead Sponsor

Trials

1,998

Recruited

602,000+

Ackerman Institute for Family

Collaborator

Trials

1

Recruited

80+

References

1. England pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Sexual Health Inventory for Men Questionnaire as a Screening Method for Erectile Dysfunction in a General Urology Clinic. [2020]

2. United States pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Prevalence of erectile dysfunction in men screened for prostate cancer. [2009]

3. United States pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

A new tool for predicting erectile dysfunction. [2019]

4. England pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

The Sexual Health Inventory for Men (SHIM): a 5-year review of research and clinical experience. [2022]

5. United States pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Relationship between patient self-assessment of erectile dysfunction and the sexual health inventory for men. [2022]