Enhancing Connections Program in Improving Communication Between Patients With Incurable Cancer and Their Children

Enhancing Connections Program in Palliative Care: Taking Care of the Children

This pilot clinical trial studies the use of the Enhancing Connections Program in improving communication between patients with incurable cancer and their children. The Enhancing Connections Program is an educational program that may provide patients with new competencies to improve communication with their children and help them to cope with their parent's incurable cancer.

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES:

I. To test the feasibility of the study protocol in advanced cancer patients (recruitment/retention, dosage and fidelity of the intervention; program acceptability of program; and logistics).

II. To evaluate the short-term impact of the program on the diagnosed parents' and children's adjustment using a within group design (pre- and post-test design).

III. To compare outcomes from the Enhancing Connections Program with outcomes obtained from the completed Phase III trial (between group design).

OUTLINE:

Patients participate in Enhancing Connections Program comprising of anchoring patients to help their child, adding to listening skills, building on listening skills, being a detective of their child's coping, and celebrating success for 5 sessions. Patients also receive workbook which includes text from the sessions, handouts, and at-home assignments to be completed between sessions.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Parents will be eligible if they have a diagnosis of incurable cancer of any type
• Read and write English among their languages of choice
• Have a child 5-17 years old living at home who has been told their parent's cancer diagnosis
• The child does not have learning challenges

Exclusion Criteria:

• Parents will be excluded if they are enrolled in hospice at time of enrollment; (however, they will be allowed to continue in the study if they enroll in hospice after beginning the study)
• Parents will be ineligible if their child lives in the home less than 50% of the time