The HEART Study (Healthy Eating and Recovery Together)

A Mobile-Support Program to Facilitate Nutritional Caregiving in Head and Neck Cancer

Head and neck cancer survivors and their primary caregivers (N=25 dyads) will be enrolled to pilot test a nutrition support system with a care planning clinic visit and a caregiver mobile App. Participants will be asked to complete baseline and 6-week follow-up surveys. The clinic session (offered in person or remotely) will include a needs assessment and a tailored care plan with information, educational materials and referrals about participants' symptoms, behaviors, social concerns and caregiving tasks. After the visit, the program will provide an App for caregivers with follow-up resources and mobile support for one month.

The long-term goal of this research is to improve physical, emotional and social post-treatment outcomes in head and neck cancer survivors and caregivers by implementing a nutrition-focused mobile-Support program to prepare and support caregivers after treatment.

Head and neck cancer survivors and their primary caregivers (N=25 dyads) will be recruited to a single-arm intervention study to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability and short-term effects of a nutrition-focused mobile support system. The intervention includes 1) a clinic visit (offered in-person or virtually) with a tablet-based needs assessment at the end of or after completing treatment which will generate 2) a tailored care plan with messages, educational materials and referrals mapped to survivor and caregiver-endorsed concerns and 3) a caregiver App with encouragement, reminders and tips delivered through messaging and peer videos. Participants will complete baseline and 6-week follow-up surveys.

Patient Inclusion Criteria:

• 18 years and older
• Patients with stage I-IVB HNC of the upper aerodigestive tract (including lip/oral cavity, nasopharynx, salivary gland, oropharynx, hypopharynx, paranasal sinus, and larynx cancers and cutaneous cancers of the head and neck region)
• In the last two weeks of treatment to 3 months following completion of primary treatment (i.e., any combination of surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy) within the past 3 months
• Experienced nutritional challenges at the end of treatment as assessed in a 6-item screener

Patient Exclusion Criteria:

• head and neck cancer patients who do not undergo treatment
• Patients who do not read or understand English
• Patients who are cognitively impaired and cannot complete interviews, as judged by the referring health care provider
• Patients who do not have a smartphone for use in the study

Caregiver Inclusion Criteria:

• 18 years and older
• Provide care for a loved one with stage I-IVB head and neck cancer who has completed treatment

Caregiver Exclusion Criteria:

• Caregivers who do not read or understand English
• Caregivers who are cognitively impaired and cannot complete interviews, as judged by the referring health care provider