Communication and Intimacy-Enhancing Intervention for Men Diagnosed With Early Stage Prostate Cancer and Their Partners: A Pilot and Feasibility Trial

OBJECTIVES:

Primary

• To evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of conducting a randomized clinical trial evaluating communication and intimacy-enhancing intervention (CI) vs usual care (UC).
• To collect descriptive information and basic psychometrics on proposed study measures.
• To gather preliminary data regarding the impact of CI on couples' psychosocial adaptation, relationship closeness, and sexual intimacy in order to calculate power for a larger full scale trial.

OUTLINE: This is a multicenter study. Patients and their partners are randomized to 1 of 2 intervention arms.

• Arm I: Patients and their partners receive communication and intimacy-enhancing intervention (CI) once a week comprising the following five 90-minute sessions: Rationale and Overview; Basic Communication; Intimacy and Sexuality; Improving Intimacy; and Reflecting on Changes and Cancer Survivorship.
• Arm II: Patients and their partners receive standard psychological and emotional care (usual care [UC]) (i.e., social work consultations and referral to a psychiatrist or psychologist, if requested or deemed necessary by the attending physician).