Communication and Hospice Online With Optimal Support and Engagement

Part of paid clinical trials in St Louis, Missouri.

Sponsor
Washington University School of Medicine
Study ID
NCT07764432
Status
Not Yet Recruiting

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Conditions

  • Cancer Caregivers
  • Caregivers
  • Family Caregivers

Eligibility Criteria

Sex
ALL
Age
18 Years - N/A
Healthy Volunteers
Accepted

Interventions

  • Intermittent Hospice Team Support — OTHER
    Intermittent hospice team support will be provided per standard of care guidelines.
  • Online Support Group with untrained facilitator — OTHER
    The online support group will be held via private, hidden Facebook. The online support group will be led by an untrained facilitator whose role is to enroll participants and maintain guidelines. Specifically, the untrained facilitator has the following roles: enrolls individuals in the group, monitors the discussion to maintain the guidelines to protect the group's integrity, provides information on resources for technical assistance, and notes any outside online groups to which they belong.
  • Online Support Group with trained facilitator — OTHER
    The online support group will be held via private, hidden Facebook. The online support group led by a trained facilitator focuses on building safe communication and encouraging participant engagement. The trained facilitator has the following roles: enrolls individuals in the group, monitors the discussion to enforce the guidelines and protect the group's integrity, provides technical assistance, moderates group discussions, initiates threads using direct and indirect strategies and communication topic openings, builds a safe environment for communication, encourages participation, and organizes and coordinates Facebook Live activities.

Study Details

The project is a multisite, three-group randomized control trial (RCT) with equal and parallel mixed-methods analysis that allows standardized measures combined with rich qualitative data to test hypotheses and answer research questions. Family caregivers (FCGs) of hospice cancer patients will be recruited and randomized into one of three groups: usual hospice care only (UC), usual care online support group (UCOSG) (without communication strategies), and the CHOOSE intervention group (with communication focus).

Key Dates

First listed
Aug 14, 2026
Start date
Feb 1, 2027
Status verified
Aug 2026
Primary completion
Apr 30, 2031
Completion
Apr 30, 2031

Study Design

Enrollment
567 participants (estimated)
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH

Arms

  • Active Comparator: Usual Care (UC)
    Patients randomized to the UC arm will receive the standard of care of intermittent hospice team support.
  • Active Comparator: Usual Care Online Social Support (UCOSG)
    Patients randomized to the UCOSG arm will have access to an online support group in addition to the standard of care of intermittent hospice team support. The online support group is led by an untrained facilitator.
  • Experimental: CHOOSE Intervention
    Patients randomized to the CHOOSE intervention will have access to standard of care of intermittent hospice team support and access to an online support group led by a trained facilitator.

Primary Outcome Measure

Changes in Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) score [ Time Frame: Baseline and every 14 days until completion of study (estimated total time 3 months) ]

Central Contacts

Locations (1)

FacilityCityStateZIPSite coordinators
Washington University School of MedicineSt LouisMissouri63110
Debra P Oliver, PhD, MSW
[email protected]
314-747-5357
Debra P Oliver, PhD, MSW (PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR)
Jacquelyn Benson, PhD (SUB_INVESTIGATOR)
Masako Mayahara, PhD (SUB_INVESTIGATOR)
Amy McQueen, PhD (SUB_INVESTIGATOR)
Eberechi Nwogu-Onyemkpa, MD (SUB_INVESTIGATOR)
Kyle Pitzer, PhD (SUB_INVESTIGATOR)
Karla Washington, PhD (SUB_INVESTIGATOR)

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