Study of a Behavioral Intervention for Older Advanced Cancer Patients and Their Caregivers

Feasibility of a Dyadic Life Review Intervention for Older Patients With Advanced Cancer and Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) and Their Caregivers

The purpose of this study is to test the feasibility of a telehealth Dyadic Life Review (DLR), adapted from individual Life Review Therapy, with patients and caregivers of older adults with advanced cancer, including those with also Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). The study will enroll aim to enroll 20 dyads (pairs) of patients and caregivers (40 total subjects).

Patient Inclusion Criteria:

• Age ≥ 65
• Able to provide informed consent. All patients will be assessed using the University of California, San Diego Brief Assessment of Capacity to Consent (UBACC) 56 - a score >14.5 will define ability to independently provide informed consent.
• Eligible patients have Stage III or IV cancer of any type
• Additionally, at least 20 patients will have a will have a high likelihood of MCI based on screening score of <26 on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) within their eRecord chart.
• Able to read and understand English

Patient Exclusion Criteria:

• Patients scoring <14.5 on the UBACC
• Unable to identify caregiver to participate in study

Caregiver Inclusion Criteria:

• One caregiver for each patient will be eligible and must be chosen by the patient. For the purposes of this study, a caregiver is defined as a valued and trusted person in a patient's life who is supportive in health care matters by providing valuable social support and/or direct assistive care.
• Caregivers will be selected by the patient when asked if there is a "family member, partner, friend or caregiver with whom you discuss or who can be helpful in health-related matters;" patients who cannot identify such a person ("caregiver") will remain eligible for the study.
• Age 50 or older
• Ability to provide consent
• Proficient in English

Caregiver Exclusion Criteria

• Caregivers unable to understand the consent form due to cognitive, health or sensory impairment will be excluded